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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES 
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY 

REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE 
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 

General Editor, J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D., Litt.D. 

DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE 
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON 



SPANISH EXPLORATION IN THE SOUTHWEST 

1542 — 1706 



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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES 
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY 



SPANISH EXPLORATION 
IN THE SOUTHWEST 

1542—1706 



EDITED BY 

HERBERT EUGENE BOLTON, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



WITH THREE MAPS 



CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
NEW YORK 1916 









COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY 
CHARLES SCRLBNER'S SONS 



Published February, 191 6 



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MAR -3 1916 
©0, A 4 27 108 



PREFACE 

This volume is logically the successor in the series of Original 
Narratives to the one edited by Hodge and Lewis under the title 
of Spanish Explorers in the Southern United States, 1528-1543. In 
one important respect the present volume differs from the series in 
general. The other volumes consist mainly of reproductions of 
documents which have hitherto appeared in English; but of this 
volume approximately only one-third of the documents have hitherto 
been published in English; about one-third have been published in 
Spanish only; while nearly one-third have never been published 
hitherto in any language. Of the Eve documents in the collection 
which formerly have been published in English, three have been 
retranslated for this work. 

In the selection of the documents it was decided to illustrate 
with some fullness the cardinal episodes in the history of the region 
and period covered, rather than to treat more lightly a larger num- 
ber of topics. This procedure has left the history of seventeenth- 
century New Mexico almost a blank after its founding by Onate. 
The brief historical introductions are designed to increase the in- 
terest and intelligibility of the documents by giving a connected 
view of the development of the whole northern frontier of New Spain 
during the period covered, as well as to furnish the necessary bio- 
graphical and bibliographical data. 

Of the translations here reprinted, that of Massanet's Carta is 
by Professor Lilia M. Casis, of the University of Texas; and that 
of De Leon's Itinerary of 1689 is by Miss Elizabeth Howard West, 
formerly state archivist of Texas. The remaining documents were 
translated for this work by the editor, assisted by Mrs. Beatrice 
Quijada Cornish, Mrs. Edith C. Galbraith, Mrs. Anne Hughes Kean, 
and Miss Elizabeth Howard West. For the final form of the trans- 
lations the editor is in each case responsible. Thanks are due to 
Reverend Father Thomas Lantry O'Neill, C. S. P., of Newman Hall, 
Berkeley, California, and to Reverend Father Zephyrin Engelhardt, 



vi PREFACE 

O. F. M., of Santa Barbara, California, for assistance in the render- 
ing of expressions relating to matters of Catholic doctrine and Church 
practices. 

Of the maps, that which serves as the frontispiece to the volume, 
a map of explorations on the northern frontier of New Spain during 
the whole period from 1535 to 1706, has been compiled by me for 
the present work largely from original data. The second is a repro- 
duction of the official map of Onate's route to New Mexico in 1598 
and of his journey to the Arkansas River in 1601, taken from the 
original in the Archives of the Indies (Archivo General de Indias) 
at Seville. This original, never before published, was made by the 
royal cosmographer (in Mexico), Enrico Martinez. It measures 30 
centimetres by 42. The third map is a reproduction of the official 
map of De Leon's route in 1690 from Monclova to the Neches River. 
The original, evidently made by Sigtienza, is in the Archives of the 
Indies and has never before been published. It measures 58 centi- 
metres by 58. 

H. E. Bolton. 



CONTENTS 

SPANISH EXPLORATION IN THE SOUTHWEST 
Edited by Herbert Eugene Bolton 

PAGE 

I. Exploration and Plans for the Settlement of California . . 1 

1. The Cabrillo-Ferrelo Expedition 1 

Introduction 3 

Relation of the Voyage of Juan RodrIguez Cabrillo . . 13 

Cabrillo sets Sail; reaches Lower California 13 

Sails northward along the Coast 14 

At Cedros and San Estevan Islands . . . . .16 

Takes Possession; Puerto de la Posesion 18 

Sails northward; San Agustin 20 

San Martin; Cabo de Cruz 21 

San Miguel (San Diego) Bay 23 

San Salvador; La Vitoria; Los Fumos 24 

Indians and their Pueblos 26 

Cape Galera and Shelter near it 27 

From Cape Galera to Northwest Cape; Storms .... 30 

Bay of Los Pinos; Drake's Bay 32 

Winter at Isla de la Posesion; Death of Cabrillo ... 33 

Further Storms; Beating among the Islands .... 34 

Ferrelo sails north to 44° 36 

His Vessels separate on the Return 38 

Reunite at Isla de Cedros; return to New Spain .... 39 

2. The Vizcaino Expedition 41 

Introduction . 43 

Diary of Sebastian Vizcaino 52 

Departure of Vizcaino from the City of Mexico .... 52 

Departure from Acapulco ........ 53 

From Navidad 54 

From the Islands of Mazatlan .55 

In Magdalena Bay 59 

In San Hipolito Bay 63 

In Port San Bartolome 64 

Admiral's Ship rejoins Captain's Ship 66 

Exploration into the Interior 67 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Cerros Island; Council decides to proceed 68 

Heavy Storms 70 

Island of San Geronimo; Port San Quentm 72 

Port San Quentin to San Diego Bay; Indians . . .76 

Feast of San Diego; Council ....... 80 

San Diego to Santa Catalina 82 

Northward Voyaging; Indians 84 

Through the Santa Barbara Channel 87 

Discovery of the Harbor of Monterey 90 

Council; the Admiral's Ship to return ...... 92 

Flagship and Frigate sail northward 94 

Cape Mendocino reached 95 

Return Voyage; Severe Sufferings 97 

Arrival at Mazatlan 99 

At Acapulco and at Mexico . 100 

Adventures of the Frigate 101 

A Brief Report of the Discovery of the South Sea (Father 

Ascension) 104 

Memorial of Francisco de Arellano 104 

Vizcaino's Expedition . 106 

Sails from Acapulco; Headwinds 107 

The Voyage and Attendant Sufferings 108 

Geography of California 109 

Of Lower California Ill 

Its Natural Products . . . 112 

Methods for developing it 114 

Magdalena Bay and its Region 115 

San Diego Bay and its Region 116 

Bay of Monterey; Products of Country 119 

Arrival at Cape Mendocino 120 

Return Voyage 121 

Methods for Settling of California; Soldiers .... 122 

Clergy and their Conduct 124 

Buildings and Trade . . 126 

Advice as to Music and Education 128 

Various Places for Settlement 129 

Advancement of the Missionary Cause 131 

Exhortation to the King 133 

II. Exploration and Settlement in New Mexico and in Adjacent 

Regions 135 

1. The Rodriguez Expedition 135 

Introduction 137 

Declaration of Pedro de Bustamante 142 

License from the Viceroy Mendoza 142 

Bustamante on the Purposes and Plans 143 



CONTENTS ix 

PAGE 

The March into New Mexico . . . . . . .145 

The Indians and their Pueblos , . 146 

The Buffalos .148 

The Pueblo of Puaray; the Return 149 

Declaration of Hernando Barrado 151 

Confirmation of the Preceding Narrative 151 

Murder of the Missionaries .152 

Brief and True Account of the Exploration of New Mexico . 154 

March of the Nine Companions and Three Friars . . . 154 

Buffalos .156 

Mines and Salines . . . . . . . . 157 

Report of the Viceroy to the King 158 

Summary of the Expedition 158 

2. The Espejo Expedition 161 

Introduction 163 

Account of the Journey to the Provinces and Settlements of 

New Mexico 168 

Organization of the Expedition; Father Beltran .... 169 

The March from San Bartolome down the Conchos . . . 170 

The Jumanos . 172 

The March up the Rio Grande; the Indians .... 175 

The Tiguas; the Slaying of the Friars 179 

The March to the Maguas 180 

To the Quires and Pumames . 181 

To the Emexes (Jemez) and Acoma 182 

To the Zufiis and Moquis . . 184 

The March westward to the Mines 187 

Return of Father Beltran . 188 

Explorations along the Rio Grande and Pecos . . • . . 188 

Description of the Region traversed 190 

Letter of Espejo to the Viceroy 193 

Letter of Espejo to the King 195 

3. The Onate Expeditions and the Founding of the Province of 

New Mexico 197 

Introduction 199 

Letter written by Don Juan de Onate from New Mexico . 212 
March from Nombre de Dios into New Mexico . . . .213 

Mutiny and Desertion 214 

The Provinces and Peoples of New Mexico 216 

Its Advantages; Mines, Pearls, Tribute, Salines . . . .219 

Services; Envoys; Requests . , 221 

Account of the Discovery of the Buffalo .... 223 

Expedition of Vicente de Zaldivar 223 

The Buffalos; the Indian Tents ....... 226 



x CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Construction of a Corral 227 

Description of the Buffalo 228 

Attestations of Zaldivar and Others 231 

Account of the Journey to the Salines, the Xumanas, and the 

Sea 233 

Various Salines; March to the West 234 

Captains Farfan and Villagra; Moqui Province .... 236 

Discovery of Excellent Mines; Return 237 

Account of the Discovery of the Mines 239 

Certificate of Onate; Captain Farfan 239 

The Jumanos 241 

Description of the Mines 244 

Attestations of Quesada and Others 247 

The Account of the Expedition of Onate toward the East . 250 

The Indian Joseph; the Expedition Organized .... 251 

The Canadian River; the Apaches 252 

TheBuffalos 254 

The Eastward March 256 

The Fate of Humana's Party 259 

March along the Arkansas River 260 

Resolution to Return 262 

Treacherous Attack by the Indians 263 

Attestation of Onate, the Friars, and the Soldiers . . . 265 

Journey of Onate to California by Land (Zarate-Salmeron) . 268 

The Province of Zuni; Cibola; Hawikuh 268 

TheCruzados 270 

The Amacavas; the Lake of Copalla 271 

The Bahacechas; Gold, Coral, Silver 273 

The Ozaras; Pearls 275 

The Mouth of the Colorado 277 

The Return Journey .278 

III. Exploration and Settlement in Texas 281 

1. The Bosque-Larios Expedition 281 

Introduction 283 

Diary of Fernando del Bosque 291 

Sets out from Guadalupe 291 

The Rio Grande del Norte 296 

The Buffalo; Christian Instruction for Indians .... 298 

San Pablo Ermitafio; the Return 305 

Indians desire Instruction; Possible Settlements .... 308 

2. The Mendoza-Lopez Expedition to the Jumanos . . . .311 

Introduction 313 

Itinerary of Juan DoMfNGUEz de Mendoza 320 

Departure from San Lorenzo; Personnel 320 



CONTENTS xi 

PAGE 

Journeys and Stages 321 

The Friars Overtaken 325 

The March Northward continued . . . . . 326 

Journey along the Salado River 329 

War against the Apaches agreed to 331 

Treachery of Juan de Sabeata; the Nueces reached . . . 336 

The Retreat 337 

The Names of the Indian Nations 339 

Retreat continued 340 

The De Leon-Massanet Expeditions 345 

Introduction 347 

Letter of Fray Damian Manzanet to Don Carlos de Siguenza . 353 

De Leon's Expeditions of 1686 and 1687 353 

Preliminary Information 354 

Expedition of 1688 356 

Expedition of 1689 357 

Search for the Frenchmen . . . . . . . . 358 

La Salle's Settlement found 362 

Two Frenchmen found 363 

The Return; Fathers Capistrano and Luzuriaga .... 364 

Plans for Expedition of 1690 367 

The Departure 368 

The French Fort destroyed; Bay of Espiritu Santo . . . 369 

Martincho and the Soldiers from Nueva Vizcaya .... 370 

The Tejas Indians 372 

The Two Frenchmen, Meunier and Talon, taken .... 375 

The Governor and Village of the Tejas 376 

The Mission of San Francisco founded 380 

Friction between De Leon and Manzanet 382 

The Expedition returns, leaving the Priests 384 

Reflections and Complaints 385 

Itinerary of the De Leon Expedition of 1689 .... 388 

The Departure from Coahuila 388 

Astronomical Determinations; Crossing of the Nueces . . .391 

Crossing of the Guadalupe 394 

Letter sent to the Frenchmen 396 

Discovery of the French Fort 398 

Exploration of Espiritu Santo (Matagorda) Bay . . . . 399 

Of the San Marcos (Lavaca) River 401 

The Return; Two Frenchmen found 402 

Itinerary of the De Leon Expedition of 1690 .... 405 

Departure from Monclova 405 

Crossing of the Nueces and the Sarco 407 

The French Fort destroyed 409 

Capture of Pierre Talon . 412 

Of Pierre Meunier 413 



xii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Governor and Village of the Tejas 415 

Founding of San Francisco de los Tejas 416 

The Return March 418 

Finding of Robert and Madeleine Talon 420 

Arrival at the Rio Grande 422 

IV. Arizona: the Jesuits in Pimeria Alta 425 

Introduction 427 

Report and Relation of the New Conversions (Father Kino) 433 

Dedication to Philip V 433 

Motives for Writing 434 

Beginnings in California , 437 

Missionary Beginnings in Pimeria 440 

Travels and Labors of Twenty-one Years 443 

Assistance and Commendations from Other Fathers . . . 445 

Baptisms and Conversions 448 

Political and Commercial Advantages expected . . . .451 

Riches of these Regions 457 

The Natives and their Excellences 458 

Epilogue . . • 462 

Letter of the General of the Jesuits . . . . . . 463 

Index . . 465 



MAPS 



Map of Explorations on the Northeen Frontier of New Spain, 
1535-1706. Compiled for the present work by Herbert E. Bolton, 
1915 ......... Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Onate's Route to New Mexico in 1598 and to the Arkansas 
River in 1601. From the original manuscript map in the Archives 
of the Indies, Seville ........ 212 



De Leon's Route ln 1690 from Monclova to the Neches River. 
From the original manuscript map in the Archives of the Indies, 
Seville 370 



I. EXPLORATION AND PLANS FOR 
THE SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 

1542-1620 

1. THE CABRILLO-FERRELO EXPEDITION 

1542-1543 



INTRODUCTION 

With the discovery of the South Sea by Balboa the Span- 
iards began to make their way northwest along the Pacific 
coast. By 1543 the entire coast line had been run from Pan- 
ama to Oregon, not to mention the discoveries on the western 
shores of South America. In conducting these voyages along 
the seaboard of the northern continent the leading part was 
played by Hernando Cortes, but the work was brought to a 
culmination, in the exploration of the California coast, by the 
viceroy Mendoza. 

Cortes had scarcely made himself master of the central 
valley of Mexico before he sent his lieutenants in all directions 
to follow up reports and rumors of other rich provinces. In 
1521 Olid subdued Michoacan, lying to the westward, and in 
the following year a shipyard was established at Zacatula, on 
the South Sea, as a base for maritime exploration. Other 
maritime bases were soon provided at Tehuantepec and Navi- 
dad, as well as farther south on the coast of Central America. 
Among the leading motives for coastwise exploration were 
rumors of rich districts such as the Amazon Island and the 
Seven Cities to the northward, and a belief in the existence, 
in the same direction, of a strait leading from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. 1 

1 Interest in the Amazon Island is illustrated by Cortes' s instructions given 
at Colima in 1524 to his relative, Francisco Cortes, whom he orders to continue 
exploration, "because I am informed that down the coast which borders the said 
villa there are many provinces thickly inhabited by people and containing, it is 
believed, great riches, and that in these parts of it there is one which is inhabited 
by women, with no men, who procreate in the way which the ancient histories 
ascribe to the Amazons, and because by learning the truth regarding this and 
whatever else there is on said coast, God our Lord and their Majesties will be 
greatly served" (Pacheco and Cardenas, Documentos Ineditos, XXVI. 153). 

3 



4 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION 

Interest in the strait is illustrated by a letter of Cortes 
to the Emperor, written in October, 1524. It states, "I saw 
that nothing more remained for me to do but to learn the 
secret of the coast which is yet to be explored between the 
Rio Panuco and Florida . . . and thence the coast of the 
said Florida northward to Bacallaos [Newfoundland] ; for it is 
deemed certain that on that coast there is a strait which passes 
to the South Sea; and if it should be found, according to a 
certain map which I have of the region of the archipelago dis- 
covered by Magellan by order of your Highness, it seems that 
it would come out very near there; and if it should please 
God that the said strait be found there, the voyage from the 
spice region to your kingdom would be very easy and very 
short, so much so that it would be less by two-thirds than 
by the route now followed, and that without any risk to the 
vessels coming and going, because they would always come and 
go through your dominions, so that in case of necessity they 
could be repaired without danger wherever they might wish 
to enter port." 1 

Misfortunes caused delay in the enterprise of exploration 
on the South Sea, but in 1527 Saavedra was sent up the coast 
and reached Santiago. In 1531 conquests by land were ex- 
tended to Culiacan by Guzman, who was led north by rumors 
of the Amazon Island and of the Seven Cities. After several 
years of interruption, Cortes again pushed north by water. 
Hurtado de Mendoza, sent by the conqueror in 1532, reached 
Rio Fuerte. In the following year Jimenez discovered the 
Peninsula of California. In 1535 Cortes himself led a colony 
to Puerto de la Paz, but within a few months the enterprise 
was abandoned. 

Renewed interest in northward exploration was aroused 
by the reports given by Cabeza de Vaca, who reached Culia- 
can in 1536, after six years of wandering across the continent. 

1 Quoted in Bancroft, North Mexican States, I. 5, foot-note. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

In 1539 Friar Marcos, sent by Mendoza by land, reached what 
he called the Seven Cities of Cibola (Zuni). His reports caused 
new enthusiasm, and Mendoza, Cortes, and Pedro de Alvarado 
all prepared to win honors in further exploration. Cortes in 
1539 sent Ulloa northward with three vessels. He ascended 
to the head of the Gulf, sailed round the extremity of the 
Peninsula, and reached Cabo del Engano, in latitude 29° 56'. 
This voyage made known the peninsular character of California. 
Mendoza in 1540 sent out the Coronado expedition, in the 
course of which Alarcon explored the lower Colorado River, 
Cardenas discovered the Grand Canyon, and Coronado 
marched northeastward as far as central Kansas. Alvarado 
prepared a fleet and formed a partnership with Mendoza for 
northern discovery, but was killed in 1541 in the Mixton War. 
His death left the fleet in the hands of Mendoza, who in 1542 
sent a part of it across the Pacific to the Philippines under 
Villalobos, and the rest up the California coast under Cabrillo, 
in the hope of finding the northern strait, and thereby a new 
route to Europe. It is the diary of the last-mentioned expedi- 
tion which is given hereinafter. 

Of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, commander of the expedition, 
little is known except that he was a Portuguese by birth and 
a skilled mariner. 1 There are indications that he had been 
with Cortes in the conquest of Mexico, and later with Alva- 
rado. 2 For the expedition the San Salvador, flagship, and the 
Victoria, a fragata or frigate, were equipped. As chief pilot 
went Bartolome Ferrelo (Ferrer, Ferrel) ; as pilot Bartolome 
Fernandez ; and as masters, Antonio Carrera and S. Remo. 
Concerning Ferrelo, who became commander after the death 
of Cabrillo, little is known except that he was a native of the 
Levant. Of the outfit Davidson writes: "The vessels were 

1 "Persona muy platica en las cosas de la Mar" (Herrera, Historia General, 
dec. VII., lib. V., cap. III., p. 89). 

2 Bancroft, North Mexican States, I. 133 ; Lowery, Spanish Settlements, I. 340. 



6 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION 

smaller than any of our coasting schooners. They were poorly 
built and very badly outfitted. Their anchors and ironwork 
were carried by men from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific ; 
they were manned by conscripts and natives ; were badly pro- 
visioned, and the crews subject to that deadly scourge of the 
sea, scurvy." 1 

The start was made on June 27, 1542, from Puerto de 
Navidad, a port twenty miles above Manzanillo, in latitude 
19° 13'. The vessels returned to the same point on April 
14, 1543, nine and one-half months later, having explored 
the entire Pacific coast to latitude 42J^°, all that part of 
the voyage above Cabo del Engano being in unknown 
waters. 

On July 3 Cabrillo reached the southern extremity of the 
Peninsula, and on the 19th Magdalena Bay, called in the diary 
Puerto de San Pedro. On August 5 he anchored at Cerros 
Island, near the northern limits of Ulloa's exploration. On 
August 21 he discovered Port San Quentin. Going ashore 
next day, he took formal possession of the country in the name 
of the king and viceroy, in honor of which ceremony the harbor 
was named Puerto de la Posesion. The Indians here made 
signs which were understood to mean that they had seen 
Spaniards before — men with beards, dogs, and Spanish weapons 
— and that they were now five days inland. To communicate 
with these men, if perchance the report were true, Cabrillo 
left a letter to be delivered by the Indians. In all probability 
the report was genuine, and referred to Coronado's party, 
which was now in the interior. 

On September 28 Cabrillo discovered "a port enclosed and 
very good, to which they gave the name of San Miguel." It 
was the beautiful San Diego Bay. Here again they were told 
by the natives of Spaniards in the interior. While at this 

1 Geographical Society of the Pacific, Transactions and Proceedings, second 
ser., IV. (1907) 13. 



INTRODUCTION 7 

place a storm arose, the first they had encountered, but the 
harbor was so good that no damage was done. 

Continuing up the coast, they discovered and named Santa 
Catalina and San Clemente Islands, which they called San 
Salvador and La Victoria, in honor of the vessels. Santa 
Monica Bay they called Bahia de los Fumos. Reaching San 
Buenaventura (Pueblo de las Canoas) on October 10, Cabrillo 
again went ashore and took formal possession of the country. 
Here once more they heard of white men in the interior, and 
at a venture despatched to them a letter. 

Leaving San Buenaventura on the 13th, they sailed west 
through the Santa Barbara channel, anchoring at Rincon, at the 
Carpinteria, above Point Goleta, at Canada del Refugio, and 
at Gaviota Pass, and on October 18 reached Point Concepcion, 
at the western extremity of the channel. As they passed they 
noted Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands to their left, but, 
supposing them to be only one, named them La Isla de San 
Lucas. 

At Point Concepcion their real difficulties began. Encoun- 
tering a strong northwest wind, they stood off from the shore 
and distinguished San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, to which 
they now gave the plural name of Las Islas de San Lucas. 
Making port at Cuyler's Harbor on San Miguel Island, they 
took formal possession, calling it Isla de la Posesion. While 
here Cabrillo suffered a fall and a broken arm. Rounding 
Point Concepcion in an attempt to continue north, they en- 
countered another storm and returned to the Indian town of 
Cicacut, or Pueblo de las Sardinas, at Gaviota Pass. 

Weighing anchor again on November 6, they succeeded in 
rounding Point Concepcion, and sailed up the coast in sight 
of Santa Lucia Mountain. Standing out to sea in a heavy 
southwester shortly before reaching Point Pinos, which they 
sighted, they did not make land again till November 14, hav- 
ing passed and missed the Bay of Monterey, Point Ano Nuevo, 



8 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION 

Half Moon Bay, the Golden Gate, and Drake's Bay. On the 
way up the vessels became separated in the storm. Fair 
weather returning, the flagship stood in toward the coast in 
search of her consort, and on November 14 sighted land near 
Northwest Cape (Cabo de Pinos), in latitude 38° 31', near 
Fort Ross. Next day the two vessels were reunited. 

Turning south, driven now by a storm from the opposite 
direction, on November 16 they discovered Drake's Bay, in 
latitude 38°, calling it Bahia de los Pinos. Running rapidly 
southward, again missing the Golden Gate, but noting on the 
way the Gulf of the Farallones, the Santa Cruz Mountains 
(Las Sierras Nevadas) and Black Mountain (Cabo de Nieve), 
on the night of the 18th they were opposite Point Pinos. On 
the 23d they put in again at Cuyler's Harbor (Puerto de la 
Posesion) on San Miguel Island. Since they had found no 
shelter after leaving Northwest Cape, above Point Pinos, and 
had missed Monterey Bay, it is inferred that they could not 
have run very near the coast on the return voyage. 

On San Miguel Island, which the natives called Ciqui- 
muymu, Cabrillo's party spent the winter from November 23 
to January 19, two months of almost continuous storms. On 
January 3 Cabrillo died, as a result of his fall while on the 
same island before. In his honor the place was named Isla 
de Juan Rodriguez. 

The command now fell to Ferrelo, who made another at- 
tempt at northward exploration. Weighing anchor on Jan- 
uary 19, 1543, to go to the mainland for supplies, he was driven 
by a storm among the islands for eight days, after which he 
returned to the port on San Miguel Island. 

On January 29, before heading north, Ferrelo went to 
Santa Rosa Island to recover some anchors which he had 
left at that place in the storm. Remaining there till February 
12, on that day he went to Cicacut (Gaviota Pass), whence 
he returned to Santa Cruz Island for greater security. Start- 



INTRODUCTION 9 

ing out again on Sunday the 18th, he sailed southwest, stand- 
ing out to sea five days. At the end of that time, and after 
running about one hundred leagues, he stood in again, in an 
endeavor to reach Northwest Cape (Cabo de Pinos), the north- 
western limit of Cabrillo's voyage. 

On the morning of the 25th, after having been driven in a 
storm for three days, he saw the object of his search. Toward 
night Punta de Arena was sighted, in latitude 38° 57'. Run- 
ning before the wind all night, next morning he was opposite 
King's Peak (Cabo de Fortunas), in latitude 40°. He continued 
before the wind during the 27th, but at night it veered toward 
the west and he ran south in a high sea, with lowered sail. 
At daybreak of the 28th the wind shifted to the southwest 
again, and Ferrelo once more ran north. That day he observed 
latitude 43°, which Davidson corrects to 41J^°. Scudding 
again before the storm that night, next day, March 1, he 
reached his farthest north. Ferrelo gives the latitude 44°, 
which Davidson corrects to 42J^°, placing the limit of the 
voyage about at Rogue River, Oregon. 1 

In the afternoon of the 28th a heavy rain-storm from the 
north occurred and the return voyage began. On March 3 they 
passed Point Arena and Northwest Cape. On the night of 
the 4th the vessels separated, and were not reunited till they 
reached Cerros Island, three weeks later. 

On the 5th the flagship was off San Miguel Island, but 
could not put into port because of a storm; accordingly it 
sought shelter on Santa Cruz Island. From here it crossed 
over on the 8th to San Buenaventura, in search of the con- 
sort, but returned on the 9th. On the 11th it reached San 
Diego Bay, where it waited six days for the other vessel. 
Setting sail on the 17th, it reached Todos Santos Bay on the 

1 Davidson thinks they did not see land above Punta de Arena (Geographical 
Society of the Pacific, Transactions and Proceedings, second ser., IV. 16). In 
this he is borne out by the diary. 



10 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION 

18th, Puerto de San Quentin on the 19th, and Cerros Island 
on the 24th. Here, on the 26th, it was joined by the fragata. 
The latter vessel had passed by San Miguel Island in the storm 
on the night of the 4th or the 5th, and had taken shelter at 
Santa Rosa Island. 

Leaving Cerros Island together on April 2, on April 14 the 
two vessels put into Puerto de Navidad, whence they had set 
out in the previous June. 

Regarding Cabrillo's voyage as a feat of navigation under 
difficulties, the following quotation from Navarrete is apt : 

Those who know the coast which Cabrillo discovered and ex- 
plored, the kind of vessels in which he undertook the expedition, the 
rigorous season during which he pursued his voyage in those intem- 
perate climes, and the state of the science of navigation at that 
period, cannot help admiring a courage and intrepidity which, though 
common among sea-faring Spaniards of that time, cannot be appre- 
ciated in our day, when the navigator is fairly dazzled by the assis- 
tance furnished him through the wonderful progress of the arts and 
sciences, rendering his operations easier and supplying him with 
advantages which, as they were lacking to the early discoverers, 
make their courage and perseverance as portentous as their discov- 
eries. Perhaps it is failure to realize these considerations, added to 
ignorance of our history, which has led some foreign writers to be- 
little the merit of Cabrillo. 

The source of most of what is known of the Cabrillo expe- 
dition is the diary hereinafter published, although Herrera 
and Navarrete give a few slight additions from other sources. 1 
The authorship of the diary is not known with certainty. 
It has been attributed to Ferrelo and also to Juan Paez, 2 with 
whom the weight of the evidence seems to be. 

1 Antonio Herrera, Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos en las 
Islas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano, decada setima (Madrid, 1728), lib. V., 
caps. III., IV., pp. 89-91 ; Martin Fernandez Navarrete, Relation del Viage hecho 
por las Goletas Sutil y Mexicana (Madrid, 1802), Introduction, pp. xxix.-xxxv. 
It is clear from Herrera's language in places that he used the Paez diary. 

2 Lowery, I. 340, note ; Bancroft, History of California, I. 69, note ; Henshaw 
in Wheeler, Report upon United States Geographical Surveys, vol. VII., p. 294. 



INTRODUCTION 11 

The diary was published in Spanish in 1857 by Bucking- 
ham Smith in his Coleccion de Varios Documentos para la His- 
toria de la Florida y Tierras Adyacentes (London), pp. 173-189, 
from an unsigned contemporary manuscript in the Archivo 
General de Indias at Seville, among the papers transferred 
from Simancas, legajo 9 of Descripciones y Poblaciones. An- 
other Spanish version was printed in 1870 by Pacheco and 
Cardenas in their Coleccidn de Documentos Ineditos (Madrid), 
XIV. 165-191. This text is from an unsigned manuscript in 
the Archivo General de Indias, Patronato, est. 1, caj. 1. In the 
title given it by the editors the authorship is ascribed to Paez. 
This text and that of Buckingham Smith seem to be from the 
same original, though there are numerous unimportant differ- 
ences of spelling, accentuation, and capitalization, the text 
in Pacheco and C&rdenas being modernized in these respects. 
Another manuscript copy is in the Munoz Collection. It 
bears an annotation ascribing the narrative to Paez. The 
differences between it and the Buckingham Smith copy are 
noted by Navarrete on the copy which Smith used. 1 

An English translation by Richard Stuart Evans, made 
from the Buckingham Smith text, was published in Wheeler, 
Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One 
Hundredth Meridian (Washington, 1879), VII. 293-314. The 
title there given is "Translation from the Spanish of the 
Account by the Pilot Ferrel of the Voyage of Cabrillo along 
the West Coast of North America in 1542. With Introductory 
Notes by H. W. Henshaw." Another translation, based on 
Evans's, but with some differences "in critical passages where 
important issues were involved/ ' was published in 1886 by 
Professor George Davidson in his study entitled "An Exami- 
nation of some of the Early Voyages of Discovery and Ex- 
ploration on the Northwest Coast of America, from 1539 to 
1603," printed in the Report of the Superintendent of the U. S. 

1 Col. Doc. Florida, p. 189. 



12 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION 

Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1886 (Washington), pp. 160-241. 
Numerous inaccuracies and defects in form in the foregoing 
versions made it seem best to prepare a new translation for 
this work, which has been done, but with due acknowledgment 
of indebtedness to my predecessors. 

The most important contribution toward the identifica- 
tion of places named or noted by the diary is that by Professor 
Davidson cited above. Davidson had rare opportunities for 
this work, and he made excellent use of them. In my identi- 
fications and assignments of latitudes I have followed him 
throughout unless otherwise stated, and I hereby acknowledge 
my obligation to this great scholar. Davidson made a map 
identifying the places named by Cabrillo and Vizcaino with 
modern names. 

To the student of exploration the diary is of the first im- 
portance. On the whole the record is very good. This is 
evidenced by the fact that Davidson was able to identify with 
practical certainty some seventy of the points mentioned 
by the diary along the coast. Paez's distances are only ap- 
proximate, and in general his latitudes are too high, those on 
the coast of Upper California requiring correction from half a 
degree to a degree and a half. To the student of ethnology 
the diary is of great interest as the record of the first contact 
of white men with the Indians of California above latitude 30°. 

The translation is based on the Buckingham Smith text, 
in Col. Doc. Florida, pp. 173-189. An awkward feature of 
the diary, which could not be avoided in the translation 
without taking too great liberties, is the indiscriminate and 
sometimes confusing use of the first and the third person. 
Likewise, tenses are often confused. 



RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF JUAN 
RODRIGUEZ CABRILLO, 1542-1543 

Relation or Diary of the Voyage made by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo 
with two Ships, for the Discovery of the Passage from the South 
Sea at the North, from the twenty-seventh of June, 1542, 
when he left the Port of Navidad, to the fourteenth of April of 
the following Year, when he returned to it, having gone as 
far as the Latitude of Forty-four Degrees ; with the Descrip- 
tion of the Coast, Ports, Bays, and Islands which he Ex- 
amined, and their Distances, on the Whole Extent of that 
Coast. 

Juan Rodriguez set sail from the port of Navidad 1 to 
explore the coast of New Spain on the 27th of June, 1542. 

Between the port of Navidad and Cape Corriente, 2 forty- 
leagues, it took him a day and a night, with a southeast wind. 

From Wednesday until the following Thursday they held 
their course along the coast thirty-five leagues. 

Sunday, July 2, they sighted California. On account of 
the weather, which was not very favorable, it took them almost 
four days to cross over. On the following Monday, the 3d 
of the same month, they anchored at the Point of California. 3 
Here they remained two days, and from here they went to 
the port of San Lucas 4 on the following Thursday and took 
on water. During these days they did not see a single Indian. 

1 Navidad is a port on the coast of Mexico in lat. 19° 13', and twenty miles 
west-northwest from the harbor of Manzanillo. "This is the port in which were 
built the ships which discovered the Philippine Islands and with which, as I have 
said, Cape Mendocino had been discovered. It was to this port that the ships 
from China used to come before that of Acapulco was discovered" (Torquemada, 
Monarchia Indiana, I. 696). 

2 Cape Corrientes, lat. 20° 25'. Reached on June 28 (Herrera, Historia 
General, dec. VII., lib. V., cap. III.). 

3 Probably Cape Pulmo, lat. 23° 23'. 

4 San Lucas Bay, lat. 22° 52'. Herrera states that on July 2 they were in 
lat. 24° and examined the Puerto del Marques del Valle, which they call "de la 
Cruz" (Historia General, dec. VII., lib. V., cap. III.). 

13 



14 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

They say that this port is in twenty-three degrees. From the 
point to the port the coast is clear and soundable ; the land 
is bare and rough. 

They left the port of San Lucas on Thursday, at night, 
and on the following Saturday, the 8th of the same month, 
they anchored under Trinidad Point, 1 which is in twenty-five 
degrees. It must be about five leagues from San Lucas. The 
coast is clear, without any irregularity. Inland are seen high, 
bald, and rugged mountains. They remained at anchor here 
until the following Wednesday, on account of contrary winds 
from the west-northwest. 

On Wednesday, the 12th of the said month, they left there. 
At the port of Trinidad 2 a harbor is formed by an island 3 
which is there ; and it is a good port, sheltered from the west- 
northwest winds. The port of the island is at its head, on the 
southeast side. It is a clear and soundable port, but it con- 
tains neither water nor wood. The island must be ten leagues 
long and two leagues wide. They cast anchor that night. 

They set sail on the following Thursday, and passed the 
port of San Pedro, 4 which is in twenty-five and one-half 
degrees. In this port there is neither water nor wood. Its 
passage is southeastward. It affords good shelter from west 
winds. They went sailing along the coast, which forms a large 
bay, 5 the head of which is in twenty-six degrees. The land 
is low, with sand dunes, the coast white and clear. They went 
sailing along it with favorable winds up to twenty-seven degrees, 
and on Wednesday, the 19th, they landed at a port which they 
found. Having gone ashore, they found a road used by the 
Indians and followed it the distance of an arquebus shot, when 
they found a spring. The interior of the country is level, 
bare, and very dry. They named it the port of Madalena. 6 

1 Cape Tosco, lat. 24° 17', and 130 miles from Cape San Lucas. "There 
must be some omission in Ferrelo's narrative wherein he gives the distance of 
five leagues from Cape San Lucas to Cape Tosco. The actual distance is 43 
leagues along the coast" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 162). 

2 Santa Marina Bay, lat. 24° 20'. 

3 Santa Margarita Island, lat. 24° 17'. 4 Magdalena Bay, lat. 24° 32'. 
6 Ensenada. Evans generally renders this word as "creek." Davidson 

changes the translation here to "gulf." 

6 Pequena Bay and Point, lat. 26° 14', thirty leagues from Santa Maria 
Bay. 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 15 

From the Bay of San Martin 1 to this port it must be about 
forty leagues. 

On the following Thursday, the 20th of the same month, 
they left this port and sailed along the coast with contrary 
winds, and about six leagues from it they found anchorage 
behind a point which they call Santa Catalina Point. 2 And 
thus they continued sailing along the coast ; and on the fol- 
lowing Tuesday, the 25th of the said month of July, they dis- 
covered a large bay in twenty-seven and one-half degrees. 
They made very little headway these days on account of the 
contrary winds. They anchored in this port and named it 
the port of Santiago. 3 It must be about twenty-three leagues 
from the port of Madalena. Five leagues from the port of 
Santiago there are some very dangerous, rocky shoals, which 
are invisible except when the sea breaks over them. They are 
a league from the shore, and are in a little over twenty-seven 
and one-half degrees. They are called Habre Ojo. 4 They 
continued sailing along the coast by the same course up to 
twenty-eight degrees, where they cast anchor in the shelter 
of a headland. Here there are groves of trees, the first which 
they had seen since leaving the Point of California. From 
this headland to the port of Santiago, at its northwestern 
point, it must be about twenty-three leagues. There are 
high, rugged mountains with some timber. We named the 
point Santa Ana. 5 About a league from shore there is a 
small island. 6 

1 Santa Maria Bay, lat. 24° 44', four leagues northwestward from the en- 
trance to Magdalena Bay. The diary mentions Puerto de la Madalena and 
Bahia de San Martin in the reverse order of that in which Cabrillo reached them. 

2 San Domingo Point and anchorage, lat. 26° 19', thirteen miles west- 
northwest from Pequefia Bay. 

3 Ballenas Bay, lat. 26° 45', under Abreojos Point, seventy-six miles from 
Pequefia Bay and fifty-four from San Domingo Point. 

4 Abreojos Rocks, lat. 26° 46', three miles west-southwest from Abreojos 
Point. Navarrete identifies Santiago with Abreojos, but it is seen that the diary 
distinguishes between them (Navarrete, Sutil y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxix.). 
"Abre ojos" means "open the eyes," or "look out!" 

5 Asuncion Point and anchorage, lat. 27° 7', forty-seven miles in a straight 
line from Abreojos Point. Navarrete places Puerto de Santa Ana far out of 
its order in the journey (Sutil y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxix.). 

6 Island of San Roque, lat. 27° 9'. Discovered by Ulloa but not then named. 
It is only a mile long and half a mile wide. 



16 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

On Thursday, the 27th of the same month, they left the 
said port of Santa Ana and went to anchor about six leagues 
from there in a port which they named Puerto Fondo 1 (Deep 
Port), because of its great depth, for near the shore it was 
thirty fathoms ; it is clear. Next day they left this port, but 
three times returned to take shelter in it from contrary winds, 
and remained in it until the following Monday. 

On Monday, the 31st of the said month, they left the said 
Puerto Fondo and anchored that night about eight leagues 2 
from there ; next day they continued their voyage. 

Tuesday, the 1st day of August, they departed from there 
and went about ten leagues, when they cast anchor in a port 
which they named San Pedro Vincula. 3 This port is in sight 
of Zedros Island. It is in a little over twenty-eight and one- 
half degrees. The land is high, rough, and bare. From Cali- 
fornia to this point we have not seen a single Indian. 

On Wednesday, the 2d of the month, they left this port ; 
the wind was contrary and they proceeded, beating; they 
went to cast anchor at an island which is southeast of Zedros 
Island and four leagues from it. This island, which they 
called San Esteban, 4 is west of the extremity of the point of 
the mainland, and its coast runs from northwest to southeast. 
It is a league from the mainland. From this point the coast 
of the mainland turns east-northeast and forms a bay so large 
that the land is not visible. Between the island and the 
mainland there is a good channel, but they have to pass close 
to the island because there is a reef underneath which extends 
a fourth of a league from the point. There is much vegetation 
on the water which grows on the bottom and is fastened below. 
This island is northwest of San Pedro Vincula. It must be 
about three leagues in circumference. We remained at this 
island, with contrary winds, until the following Saturday, the 
5th of the said month of August. It has a good port on the 

1 Table-Head Cove, or San Pablo Bay, lat. 27° ll', about ten miles from 
Asunci6n Point. 

2 Bay of San Christoval, eight miles east of Morro Hermoso. 

3 Port San Bartolome, lat. 27° 39', eleven and one-half leagues from Table- 
Head Cove. 

4 Natividad Island, lat. 27° 53', discovered by Ulloa but not named. Its 
southern part is three leagues from Cerros Island (Davidson, Early Voyages, pp. 
173-174). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 17 

southeast side. There is good fishing with a hook, and there 
are many birds. 

They left the island of San Estevan on Saturday, the 5th 
of August, and went to anchor at the island of Zedros, 1 where 
they remained until Thursday, the 10th of the said month, 
taking on water and wood. They found no Indians, although 
they found signs of them. The leeward point of this island, 
on the south side, is in twenty-nine degrees, and it has on this 
south side good ports, water, and wood. On this side it is 
bare, for it has only some small shrubs. The island is large, 
high, and bare, and trends almost from east to west ; on the 
south side it must be about twelve leagues long. 

They left the island of Zedros on Thursday, the 10th of the 
said month of August, to continue their voyage, and followed 
the curve of the mainland, sailing north. They went this 
day about ten leagues, and on the Friday following they went 
to anchor at a harbor which they called the port of Santa 
Clara. 2 It is a good port. They went ashore and found four 
Indians, who fled. This port is in thirty degrees, scant. It 
is northeast of the island of Zedros, and from the port toward 
the bay this coast runs from north-northwest to south-south- 
east. The coast is clear and soundable ; the land is bare, and 
is not rough; it has plains and valleys. They remained in 
this port till Sunday, the 13th of the said month, on account 
of the foul winds. 

On Sunday, the 13th of said month, they left this port and 
sailed along the coast with light winds, casting anchor every 
night ; and on the following Tuesday they anchored under a 
point which forms a bay which is in thirty and one-half degrees. 
It affords little shelter. They called it Punta del Mai Abrigo 3 
(Point of Poor Shelter). 

1 Cerros Island, lat. 28° 2' at its southernmost point. It was discovered by 
Ulloa and named by him La Isla de los Cedros, but the name became changed 
to Cerros, because it has numerous high peaks (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 174). 

2 La Play a Maria Bay, lat. 28° 55', about seventeen leagues northeast of 
the north end of Cerros Island. 

3 Probably Point Canoas, lat. 29° 25', or, possibly, Bluff Point, lat. 29° 34'. 
"Working back from San Geronimo Island, one of these points must be that 
which Cabrillo intended to designate as Mai Abrijo" (Davidson, Early Voyages, 
p. 178). Navarrete identifies Punta del Mai Abrigo with Point Canoas (Sutil 
y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxix.). 



18 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

On the following Wednesday they sailed along the coast, 
against a strong northwest headwind, and remained in shelter 
that night without making any headway. The following 
Thursday they continued amid heavy rains, headwinds, and 
calms, so that they did not make land. The following night 
they encountered a heavy west-northwest wind and sought 
shelter. The following Friday they sailed with favorable winds 
and found themselves six leagues to the windward of the Point 
of Mai Abrigo. Thus they continued until the following 
Saturday, the 19th of the said month, when they cast anchor 
at a small island which is half a league from the mainland. 
It must be about ten leagues from the Point of Mai Abrigo. 
It is in thirty and one-half degrees. It has a good anchorage 
and good shelter. They called it San Bernardo. 1 It must 
be about a league long from north to south. The coast of the 
mainland runs from north-northwest to south-southeast. It 
is a clear coast. The interior of the country looks very good 
and level ; there are good valleys and some timber, the rest 
being bare. During these days they saw no sign of Indians. 

On Sunday, the 20th of said month of August, they left 
the island of San Bernardo and approached Point Engaiio, 2 
which must be about seven leagues from this island, and is in 
thirty-one degrees. From the point toward the island the 
coast runs from north-northwest to south-southeast. At 
Point Engano the land is not high, and it appears to be good 
and level ; the mountains are bare. We saw no sign of In- 
dians. And thus they sailed along until the next Monday, 
following the coast to the north and northeast ; and about ten 
leagues from Point Engano they discovered a good port, in 
which they cast anchor and took on water and wood. It is 
in thirty-one and one-half degrees. It is a port suitable for 
making any kind of repairs on ships, placing them in a se- 
cure spot. 3 

On the following Tuesday Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo 

1 San Geronimo Island, lat. 29° 48', eight leagues from Bluff Point and 
thirteen from Point Canoas. 

2 Punta Baja, lat. 29° 56', eight and one-half miles northwest of San Geron- 
imo Island. Herrera calls it Cabo del Engano (Historia General, dec. VII., lib. 
V., cap. III.). 

3 Poniendoles a monte. 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 19 

went ashore, took possession there in the name of his Majesty 
and of the most Illustrious Senor Don Antonio de Mendoza, 
and named it port of La Posesion 1 (port of the Possession). 

He found a lake which has three large 2 , and found 

some Indian fishermen, who forthwith fled. They captured 
one of them ; giving him a few presents they released him and 
he departed. The interior of the country consists of high and 
rugged land, but it has good valleys and appears to be good 
country, although bare. They remained in this place until 
Sunday, the 27th of said month, repairing the sails and taking 
on water. On Thursday they saw some smokes and, going to 
them with the boat, they found some thirty Indian fishermen, 
who remained where they were. They brought to the ship a 
boy and two women, gave them clothing and presents, and 
let them go. From them they could understand nothing by 
signs. 

On the Friday following, on going to get water, they found 
in the watering place some Indians who remained quiet and 
showed them a pool of water, and a saline which contained a 
large quantity of salt. They said by signs that they did not 
live there, but inland, and that there were many people. This 
same day, in the afternoon, five Indians came to the beach; 
they brought them to the ships and they appeared to be in- 
telligent Indians. Entering the ship they pointed at and 
counted the Spaniards who were there, and said by signs that 
they had seen other men like them, who wore beards, and who 
brought dogs, and crossbows, and swords. The Indians came 
smeared over with a white paste on the thighs, body, and arms, 
and wore the paste like slashes, so that they appeared like men 
in hose and slashed doublets. They made signs that Spaniards 
were five days from there. They made signs that there were 
many Indians, and that they had much maize and many par- 
rots. They came covered with deerskins ; some wore the deer- 
skins dressed in the way the Mexicans dress the skins which 
they use for their cutaras. 3 They are a large and well- 

1 Port of San Quentin, lat. 30° 24', twenty-seven miles northwest of Punta 
Baja, and five or six miles southwest of the village of San Quentin. 

2 Blank in the original. 

3 Cotaras, an Americanism meaning a kind of Indian footwear ; also applied 
to Indians' clothing in general. Rendered "cutters" by Evans. 



20 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

featured people. They carry their bows and arrows like those 
of New Spain, the arrows being tipped with flints. The cap- 
tain gave them a letter to carry to the Spaniards who they 
said were in the interior. 

They left the port of La Posesion on Sunday, the 27th of 
the said month of August, and, continuing their course, they 
discovered an island two leagues from the mainland. It is 
uninhabited ; there is a good port in it ; they named it San 
Agustin; it must be about two leagues in circumference. 
They continued thus along the coast with light winds, holding 
to windward, until the following Wednesday, the 30th of the 
said month, when they encountered a heavy northwest wind 
which forced them to seek shelter at the island of San Agustin. 1 
On this island they found signs of people, and two cows' horns, 
and very large trees which the sea had cast there ; they were 
more than sixty feet long and so thick that two men could not 
reach around one of them. They looked like cypresses ; and 
there were cedars. There was a great quantity of this timber, 
but this island contains nothing else except a good port. They 
remained at this island until the following Sunday. 

On Sunday, the 3d of the month of September, they left 
said Island of San Agustin and continued sailing on their 
course ; and on the following Monday they cast anchor at the 
shore, 2 about seven leagues to the windward, on a coast run- 
ning north and south. At once they continued their course, 
sailing with favorable though light winds on a coast running 
north and south, until Thursday, the 7th of said month of 
September, when they went to cast anchor in a bay which the 
land forms. Here the coast ceases to run north and south and 
turns to the northwest. At this bay there is a large valley ; 
the land is level at the coast, and inland there are high moun- 
tains, and rough land which appears to be good. All the 
coast is bold, with a smooth and shallow bottom, for at half 
a league they were at anchor in ten fathoms. About here 
there is much vegetation on the water. 

On the following Friday, the 8th of said month, they sailed 
with light winds, working to windward, and encountering ad- 

1 San Martin Island, lat. 30° 29'. 

2 San Ramon or Virgin's Bay, lat. 30° 49'. Eight or ten miles inland is 
the old mission of San Vicente (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 188). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 21 

verse currents. They went to anchor under a headland which 
forms a cape and affords good shelter from the west-northwest. 
They named it Cape San Martin. 1 It forms a spur of land 
on both sides; here end some high mountains which come 
from behind, and here begin other small mountains. There is 
one large valley, and many others; apparently the land is 
good. The port is in thirty-two and one-half degrees. It is 
a clear port and soundable. Its direction from the island 
of San Agustin is north. 

While at this Cape of San Martin they went ashore for 
water and found a small lake of fresh water, where they got 
a supply. To this watering place came forty Indians with 
bows and arrows. They could not make each other under- 
stood. The Indians were naked; they brought roasted 
maguey 2 and fish to eat. They are large people. Here they 
took possession. They were at this cape until the following 
Monday. 

On Monday, the 8th of said month, 3 they left Cape San 
Martin and sailed some four leagues on a coast running north- 
northeast-south-southwest, and from there the coast turns 
northwest. The land is high and bare. Next day they sailed 
along a coast running from northwest to southeast a matter 
of six leagues. All this coast is bold and clear. The next 
day they sailed, with foul winds, a matter of four leagues, still 
on a coast running from northwest to southeast. On the land 
there are high broken mountains. On the following Thursday 
they cast anchor about three leagues farther on, under a head- 
land which extends into the sea and forms a cape on both sides. 
It is called Cabo de Cruz 4 (Cape of the Cross) ; it is in thirty- 
three degrees. There is neither water nor wood, nor did 
they find a sign of Indians. 

Having departed from Cabo de la Cruz, because of head- 
winds they found themselves on the following Saturday two 
leagues from the same cape on a coast running from north- 
northwest to south-southeast. At the shore they saw Indians 

1 Point Santo Tomas, or Cape San Tomas, lat. 31° 33'. Navarrete identi- 
fies this with Cape San Quentin (Sutil y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxx.). 

2 See Espejo documents, p. 170, above, note 5. 3 The eleventh, of course. 

4 Grajero Point, or Banda Point, lat. 31° 45'. The date of anchoring, ac- 
cording to Herrera, was the 14th (Historia General, dec. VII., lib. V., cap. III.). 



22 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

in some very small canoes. The land is very high, bare, and 
dry. All the land from California to here is sandy near the 
shore, but here begins land of another sort, the soil being red- 
dish 1 and of better appearance. 

On Sunday, the 17th day of the said month, they sailed on 
in continuation of their voyage, and about six leagues from 
Cabo de Cruz they found a good and closed port. To reach 
it they passed a small island 2 which is near the mainland. 
In this port they took on water from a small lake of rain- 
water. There are groves of trees like silk-cotton trees, ex- 
cepting that they are of hard wood. They found thick and 
tall trees which the sea brings. This port is called San Mateo. 3 
The land appears to be good ; there are large savannahs, 4 and 
the grass is like that of Spain. The land is high and broken. 
They saw some herds of animals like cattle, which went in 
droves of a hundred or more, and which, from their appearance, 
from their gait, and the long wool, looked like Peruvian sheep. 
They have small horns a span in length and as thick as the 
thumb. The tail is broad and round and a palm long. 5 This 
place is in thirty-three and one-third degrees. They took 
possession here. They remained in this port until the follow- 
ing Saturday. 

On Saturday, the 23d of said month, they left said port of 
San Mateo and sailed along the coast until the Monday fol- 
lowing, when they must have gone about eighteen leagues. 
They saw very beautiful valleys and groves, and country both 
level and rough, but no Indians were seen. 

On the following Tuesday and Wednesday they sailed along 
the coast about eight leagues, passing by some three islands 

1 Cf. Evans's translation. 2 The Todos Santos Islands, lat. 31° 48'. 

3 Perhaps the ensenada in Todos Santos Bay, lat. 31° 51' (Davidson, Early 
Voyages, p. 190). Navarrete also maintains this opinion (Sutil y Mexicana, 
Introduction, p. xxx.). 

4 Cf. Evans's translation. 

6 Henshaw remarks : "The animal here described seems to have been the 
product of about equal parts of fact and imagination. Without the wool the 
account would apply tolerably well to the antelope (Antilocapra americana), 
which it probably was. The only animal with a woolly fleece indigenous to this 
region is the mountain goat (Haplocerus montanus), but this animal inhabits 
only the highest mountains, and hence could not have fallen under the observa- 
tion of the Spaniards" {Voyage of Cabrillo, in Wheeler's Report, vol. II., Archae- 
ology, p. 304). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 23 

completely denuded of soil. 1 One of them is larger than the 
others. It is about two leagues in circumference and affords 
shelter from the west winds. They are three leagues from the 
mainland, and are in thirty-four degrees. They called them 
Mas Desiertas 2 (Desert Islands). This day great smokes 
were seen on the land. The country appears to be good and 
has large valleys, and in the interior there are high moun- 
tains. 

On the following Thursday they went about six leagues 
along a coast running north-northwest, and discovered a port, 
closed and very good, which they named San Miguel. 3 It is 
in thirty-four and one-third degrees. Having cast anchor in 
it, they went ashore where there were people. Three of them 
waited, but all the rest fled. To these three they gave some 
presents and they said by signs that in the interior men like 
the Spaniards had passed. They gave signs of great fear. 
On the night of this day they went ashore from the ships to 
fish with a net, and it appears that here there were some In- 
dians, and that they began to shoot at them with arrows and 
wounded three men. 

Next day in the morning they went with the boat farther 
into the port, which is large, and brought two boys, who under- 
stood nothing by signs. They gave them both shirts and sent 
them away immediately. 

Next day in the morning three adult Indians came to the 
ships and said by signs that in the interior men like us were 
travelling about, bearded, clothed, and armed like those of 
the ships. They made signs that they carried crossbows and 
swords ; and they made gestures with the right arm as if they 
were throwing lances, and ran around as if they were on horse- 
back. They made signs that they were killing many native 
Indians, and that for this reason they were afraid. These 
people are comely and large. They go about covered with 
skins of animals. While they were in this port a heavy storm 
occurred, but since the port is good they did not feel it at alL 

1 Cf. Evans's translation. 

2 Los Coronados Islands, lat. 32° 25'. Henshaw thought that they were 
San Clemente and Catalina, but manifestly without good grounds (Voyage of 
Cabrillo, p. 305). 

3 San Diego Bay. The extremity of Point Loma is near lat. 32° 40'. 



24 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

It was a violent storm from the west-southwest and the south- 
southwest. This is the first storm which they have experi- 
enced. They remained in this port until the following Tues- 
day. The people here called the Christians Guacamal. 

On the following Tuesday, the 3d of the month of October, 
they departed from this port of San Miguel, and on Wednes- 
day, Thursday, and Friday, they held their course a matter 
of eighteen leagues along the coast, where they saw many 
valleys and plains, and many smokes, and mountains in the 
interior. At nightfall they were near some islands which are 
some seven leagues from the mainland, but because the wind 
went down they could not reach them that night. 

At daybreak on Saturday, the 7th of the month of October, 
they were at the islands which they named San Salvador 1 
and La Vitoria. 2 They anchored at one of them and went 
ashore with the boat to see if there were people ; and when the 
boat came near, a great number of Indians emerged from the 
bushes and grass, shouting, dancing, and making signs that 
they should land. As they saw that the women were fleeing, 
from the boats they made signs that they should not be afraid. 
Immediately they were reassured, and laid their bows and ar- 
rows on the ground and launched in the water a good canoe 
which held eight or ten Indians, and came to the ships. They 
gave them beads and other articles, with which they were 
pleased, and then they returned. Afterward the Spaniards 
went ashore, and they, the Indian women, and all felt very 
secure. Here an old Indian made signs to them that men like 
the Spaniards, clothed and bearded, were going about on the 
mainland. They remained on this island only till midday. 

On the following Sunday, the 8th of said month, they drew 
near to the mainland in a large bay which they called Bay of 
Los Fumos, 3 (Bay of the Smokes), because of the many smokes 

1 Santa Catalina Island, lat. 33° 26*/£' at Isthmus Cove. It is eighteen 
miles long and twenty-three and one-half miles from Point Lasuen (Davidson, 
Early Voyages, p. 194). Navarrete identifies San Salvador with the San Cle- 
mente, and La Victoria with the Santa Catalina. 

2 San Clemente Island. The latitude of the southeast head is 32° 49'. 
This and the foregoing island were named after the ships. 

3 Santa Monica Bay, named from Sierra Santa Monica. Latitude of Point 
Dume, on the north side, 34°. He landed near the point, where there were large 
villages of Indians to a very late date (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 196). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 25 

which they saw on it. 1 Here they held a colloquy with some 
Indians whom they captured in a canoe, and who made signs 
that toward the north there were Spaniards like them. This 
bay is in thirty-five degrees and is a good port, and the country 
is good, with many valleys, plains, and groves. 

On the following Monday, the 9th of the said month of 
October, they left the Bay of Los Fuegos (the Fires), and 
sailed this day some six leagues, anchoring in a large bay. 2 
From here they departed the next day, Tuesday, and sailed 
some eight leagues along a coast running from northwest to 
southeast. We saw on the land a pueblo of Indians close to 
the sea, the houses being large like those of New Spain. They 
anchored in front of a very large valley on the coast. Here 
there came to the ships many very good canoes, each of which 
held twelve or thirteen Indians ; they told them of Christians 
who were going about in the interior. The coast runs from 
northwest to southeast. Here they gave them some presents, 
with which they were greatly pleased. They indicated by 
signs that in seven days they could go to where the Spaniards 
were, and Juan Rodriguez decided to send two Spaniards into 
the interior. They also indicated that there was a great river. 
With these Indians they sent a letter at a venture to the 
Christians. They named this town the Pueblo of Las Canoas. 3 
The Indians dress in skins of animals ; they are fishermen and 
eat raw fish ; they were eating maguey also. This pueblo is in 
thirty-five and one-third degrees. The interior of the country 
is a very fine valley ; and they made signs that in that valley 
there was much maize and abundant food. Behind the valley 
appear some very high mountains and very broken country. 
They call the Christians Taquimine. Here they took possession 
and here they remained until Friday, the 13th day of said month. 

On Friday, the 13th of said month of October, they left 
the pueblo of Las Canoas to continue their voyage, and sailed 

1 "Around it" (Davidson, ibid.). 

2 The anchorage off Laguna Mugu, lat. 34° 5', fifteen miles west of Point 
Dume and nineteen miles by coast line from San Buenaventura. 

8 "Pueblo of the Canoes," at San Buenaventura, in lat. 34° 17'. "The 
name Taquimine seems to be the original of the present Hueneme, and is locally- 
referred to the name of a celebrated chief" (Davidson, p. 198). Navarrete lo- 
cates this town on San Juan Capistrano Bay (Sutil y Mexicana, Introduction, 
p. xxxi.). 



26 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

this day six or seven leagues/ passing along the shores of two 
large islands. Each of them must be four leagues long, and 
they must be about four leagues from the mainland. They 
are uninhabited, because they have no water, but they have 
good ports. The coast of the mainland trends to the west- 
northwest. It is a country of many savannahs and groves. 
On the following Saturday they continued on their course, but 
made no more than two leagues, anchoring 2 in front of a 
magnificent valley densely populated, with level land, and 
many groves. Here came canoes with fish to barter; the 
Indians were very friendly. 

On the following Sunday, the 15th day of the said month, 
they continued on their course along the coast for about ten 
leagues ; 3 all the way there were many canoes, for the whole 
coast is very densely populated; and many Indians kept 
boarding the ships. They pointed out the pueblos and told 
us their names. They are Xuco, Bis, Sopono, Alloc, Xabaagua, 
Xocotoc, Potoltuc, Nacbuc, Quelqueme, Misinagua, Mise- 
sopano, Elquis, Coloc, Mugu, Xagua, Anacbuc, Partocac, 
Susuquey, Quanmu, Gua, 4 Asimu, Aguin, Casalic, Tucumu, 
and Incpupu. 5 

All these pueblos are between the first pueblo of Las Canoas, 
which is called Xucu, and this point. They are in a very good 
country, with fine plains and many groves and savannahs. 
The Indians go dressed in skins. They said that in the in- 
terior there were many pueblos, and much maize three days' 
journey from there. They call maize Oep. They also said 
that there were many cows ; 6 these they call Cae. They also 
told us of people bearded and clothed. 

1 To the "Rincon," lat. 34° 22', four leagues west of San Buenaventura. 

2 Anchorage off the Carpinterfa, lat. 34° 24', about a mile west of Sand Point. 

3 Anchorage four or five miles west of Point Goleta, eleven miles west of 
Santa Barbara lighthouse, in lat. 34° 25'. 

4 A note in Buckingham Smith, p. 189, states that the last two names are 
united in the manuscript, thus : Quanmugua. 

6 The Indians of this coast were of the Chumashan linguistic stock. The 
name is from that of the natives of Santa Rosa Island. For a discussion of 
civilization and divisions of the group, see H. W. Henshaw and A. L. Kroeber in 
Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, I. 296-297, and the authorities there cited. 

6 Henshaw thinks the animal here referred to was the bison (Voyage of Ca- 
brillo, p. 307, note), but it was more probably the elk, plentiful in California in 
early days, which is not true of the bison. 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 27 

This day they passed along the shore of a large island * 
which must be fifteen leagues long. They said that it was very 
densely populated and that there were the following pueblos : 
Niquipos, Maxul, Xugua, Nitel, Macamo, and Nimitapal. 
They called this island San Lucas. From here to the pueblo 
of Las Canoas it must be about eighteen leagues. The island 
must be about six leagues from the mainland. 

On Monday, the 16th of the said month, sailing along the 
coast, they made about four leagues, and cast anchor 2 in the 
afternoon in front of two pueblos. All this day, likewise, many 
canoes came with the ships and made signs that farther on 
there were canoes much larger. 

On the following Tuesday, the 17th of the said month, 
they made three leagues, 3 with favorable winds. Many 
canoes went with the ships from daybreak, and the captain 
kept giving them many presents. All this coast which they 
have passed is very thickly settled. The Indians brought for 
them many sardines, fresh and very good. They say that in the 
interior there are many pueblos and abundant food. They ate 
no maize. They were dressed in skins, and wore their hair 
very long and tied up with long strings interwoven with the 
hair, there being attached to the strings many gewgaws 4 
of flint, bone, and wood. The country appears to be very 
fine. 

On Wednesday, the 18th of the said month, they proceeded 
along the coast until ten o'clock, seeing that all the coast was 
populated; and because there was a fresh wind and canoes 
did not come to them, they drew near to a headland which 
forms a cape like a galley, and named it Cape Galera. 5 It is 
in thirty-six degrees, full. And because a strong northwest 
wind struck them they stood off shore and discovered two 
islands, one large, probably about eight leagues long from east 
to west, the other about four leagues. They are inhabited, and 

1 The three islands, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel. They over- 
lap each other and were thought to be one. They afterward discovered that 
they were separate. See entries for January, 1543. 

2 Anchorage off the Canada del Refugio, 34° 27', twenty-one miles from the 
Santa Barbara lighthouse. 

3 To the anchorage off Gaviota Pass, twelve miles east of Point Concepcion, 
lat. 34° 28'. 

4 Dagas. 5 Point Concepcion, lat. 34° 27'. 



28 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

in this small one there is a good port. They are ten leagues 
from the mainland. They are called the Islands of San Lucas. 1 
From the mainland to Cape Galera the coast runs west-north- 
west. The district from the pueblo of Las Canoas to Cape 
Galera is a densely populated province and is called Xexu. 
Many languages distinct from each other are spoken in it. 
They have bitter wars with one another. From the pueblo 
of Las Canoas to Cape Galera it is thirty leagues. They re- 
mained in these islands until the following Wednesday because 
it was very stormy. 2 

On Wednesday, the 25th of said month, they left these 
islands, setting out from the one which was most to windward. 
It has a very good port, which within gives shelter from all 
storms of the sea. They called it La Posesion. 3 This day they 
made little headway because there was no wind. The follow- 
ing midnight they were struck by a wind from the south-south- 
west and west-southwest, with rain, which put them in peril, 
because it was an on-shore wind and they were near land, and 
they were unable to double the cape on one tack or the other. 
At vespers the following Thursday the wind drove them off- 
shore, to the south, whereupon they continued on their course 
some ten leagues on 4 a coast running from north-northwest to 
south-southeast. All this coast is inhabited and the coun- 
try appears to be good. That night they held out to sea be- 
cause the wind was on-shore, and on Friday, Saturday, and 
Sunday they sailed with contrary winds, beating about from 
one side to the other, without being able to make headway. 
They were in thirty-six and one-half degrees, and ten leagues 
from Cape Galera. They continued also on Monday, and on 

1 San Miguel, and then Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa as one. "They had 
already seen the Island of Santa Rosa, as part of the Island of Santa Cruz when 
they overlapped and were named San Lucas. Now they discover San Miguel 
separated from the Island of Santa Rosa, which was supposed to be the western 
part of San Lucas" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 204). 

2 Herrera says: "During the eight days that they remained in the port 
they were well treated by the Indians, who go naked and paint their faces after 
the manner of Axedrez " (Historia General, dec. VII., lib. V., cap. III.). 

3 San Miguel Island. The latitude of the anchorage is 34° 3'. After Ca- 
brillo's death Ferrelo named the island La Isla de Juan Rodriguez. See p. 33. 
Herrera adds some information at this point (Historia General, dec. VII., lib. V., 
cap. III.). 

4 "To a coast" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 208). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 29 

Tuesday, the 31st of the said month, eve of the Feast of All 
Saints, tacking back and forth, trying to approach the main- 
land in search of a large river 1 which they had heard was on 
the other side of Cape Galera, and because on the land there 
were signs of rivers. But they found none, neither did they 
anchor here, because the coast was very bold. 

This month they found on this coast the same weather as 
in Spain from thirty-four degrees and upward, with severe 
cold in the mornings and at night, and with storms, very dark 
and cloudy weather, and heavy atmosphere. 

On Wednesday, the 1st day of November, at midnight, 
standing off, they encountered a heavy wind from the north- 
northwest, which prevented them from carrying a palm of sail, 
and by dawn it had freshened so that they were forced to seek 
shelter, and they therefore went to take refuge under Cape 
Galera. There they cast anchor and went ashore ; and although 
there was a large pueblo which they call Xexo, 2 because wood 
did not appear to be close at hand they decided to go to the 
pueblo of Las Sardinas, 3 because there the water and wood were 
close and handy. This shelter under Galera they called the 
port of Todos Santos. 4 On the following Thursday they went 
to the pueblo of Las Sardinas, 5 where they remained three days, 
taking on water and wood. The natives of the country aided 
them and brought the wood and water to the ships. This 
pueblo of the port of Sardinas they call Cicacut ; the others, 
between there and Cape Galera, are Ciucut, Anacot, Maqui- 
nanoa, Paltatre, Anacoat, Olesino, Caacat, Paltocac, Tocane, 
Opia, Opistopia, Nocos, Yutum, Quiman, Micoma, Garomi- 
sopona. The ruler 6 of these pueblos is an old Indian woman, 
who came to the ships and slept two nights on the captain's 
ship, as did many Indians. The pueblo of Ciucut appeared 
to be the capital of the rest, for they came there from other 
pueblos at the call of this ruler. The pueblo which is at the 

1 Perhaps the Purfsima, or Santa Inez, emptying just north of Point 
Argiiello. 

2 The Indian village at El Coxo anchorage. 

3 The Sardines. 4 El Coxo anchorage, lat. 34° 28'. 

5 Indian village at Gaviota Pass, lat. 34° 27'. This is the place where they 
secured so many sardines on October 17. (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 208, 
where a slight error in chronology occurs.) 

6 La Senora. 



30 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

cape they call Xexo. From this port to the pueblo of Las 
Canoas is another province which they call Xucu. 1 Their 
houses are round and very well covered clear to the ground. 
They wear skins of many kinds of animals. They eat oak 
acorns, and a seed the size of maize. It is white, and from it 
they make tamales ; it is a good food. They say that in the 
interior there is much maize, and that men like us are going 
about there. This port is in thirty-five and two-thirds degrees. 

On Monday, the 6th of said month of November, they left 
the said port of Sardinas ; that day they made almost no prog- 
ress, and until the following Friday they sailed with very- 
light wind. That day we arrived at Cape Galera. 2 During 
all this course they could make no use of the Indians who came 
aboard with water and fish, and appeared very friendly. 
They have in their pueblos large plazas, and have an enclosure 
like a fence ; and around the enclosure they have many blocks 
of stone set in the ground, and projecting three palms above 
it. Within the enclosures they have many timbers set up like 
thick masts. On these poles they have many paintings, and 
we thought that they worshipped them, because when they 
dance they go dancing around the enclosure. 

On the following Saturday, the day of San Martin, the 11th 
of the said month of November, they held on their course, 
sailing along the coast, 3 and that morning found themselves 
twelve leagues from the cape in the same place where they 
had first arrived. All this day they had good wind, and they 
journeyed along the coast from southeast to northwest, making 
twenty leagues. All this coast which they ran this day is 
bold and entirely without shelter. All along it runs a chain 
of very high mountains. It is as high at the seacoast as in 
the interior, and the sea beats upon it. They saw no settle- 
ment nor any smokes, and all the coast, which has no shelter 
from the north, is uninhabited. They named these mountains 
the Sierras de San Martin. 4 They are in thirty-seven and 
one-half degrees. Their northwest extremity forms a cape 

1 Elsewhere said to extend from San Buenaventura to Point Concepcidn. 

2 Point Concepci6n, lat. 34° 27'. 

3 Driven by a southwester (Herrera, Historia General, dec. VIL, lib. V., 
cap. IV.). 

4 The Santa Lucia Mountain. 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 31 

which juts into the sea. It is in thirty-eight degrees. They 
named it Cape Martin. 1 

At four o'clock this Saturday night, when lying-to at sea 
about six leagues from the coast, waiting for morning, with a 
southeast wind, there blew up so heavy a gale from the south- 
west and south-southwest, with rain and dark clouds, that 
they could not carry a palm of sail, and were forced to scud 
with a small foresail, with much labor, the whole night. On 
the following Sunday the tempest became much more violent 
and continued all day, all night, and until noon of the follow- 
ing day. The storm was as severe as any there could be in 
Spain. On Saturday night they lost sight of their consort. 

On Monday, the 13th of said month of November, at the 
hour of vespers, the wind calmed down and shifted to the 
west, and at once they set sail and went in search of the con- 
sort, steering towards the land, praying to God that they 
might find her, for they greatly feared that she might be lost. 
They ran to the north and north-northwest with a wind from 
the west and west-northwest, and at daybreak on the follow- 
ing Tuesday they sighted the land. 2 They had to run until 
the afternoon, when they went to reconnoitre a very high 
coast, and then proceeded along the coast to see if there were 
any port where they might take shelter. So great was the 
swell of the ocean that it was terrifying to see, and the coast 
was bold and the mountains very high. In the afternoon they 
lay-to for shelter. The coast runs from northwest to south- 
east. The}" examined the coast at a point which projects 
into the sea and forms a cape. 3 The point is covered with 
timber, and is in forty degrees. 

On Wednesday, the loth of said month, they sighted the 
consort, whereupon they heartily thanked God, for the}" had 
thought her lost. They made toward her, and in the after- 
noon they joined company. Those on the other ship had ex- 
perienced greater labor and risk than those of the captain's 

1 Point Pinos, in lat. 36° 38'. 

2 Davidson says the land sighted was to the northward of Russian River 
(Early Voyages, p. 220). 

3 The bold, high spur of the coast mountains nearly overhanging Ft. Ross 
Cove, lat. 38° 31'. Herrera calls it Cabo de Pinos (Historia General, dec. VII., 
lib. V., cap. IV.). 



32 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1542 

ship, since it was a small vessel and had no deck. This coun- 
try where they were sailing is apparently very good, but they 
saw no Indians or smokes. There are large mountains cov- 
ered with snow, and there is heavy timber. At night they 
lowered sails and lay-to. 

On the following Thursday, the 16th of the said month 
of November, they found themselves at daybreak in a great 
bay, which came at a turn, and which appeared to have a 
port and river. They held on, beating about that day and 
night and on the following Friday, until they saw that there 
was neither river nor shelter. In order to take possession they 
cast anchor in forty-five fathoms, but they did not dare go 
ashore because of the high sea. This bay is in thirty-nine 
degrees, full, and its entire shore is covered with pines clear 
to the sea. They named it Bay of Los Pinos. 1 That night 
they lay-to until the following day. 

The following Saturday they ran along the coast, and at 
night found themselves off Cape San Martin. 2 All the coast 
run this day is very bold ; the sea has a heavy swell, and the 
coast is very high. There are mountains which reach the 
sky, and the sea beats upon them. When sailing along near 
the land, it seems as if the mountains would fall upon the 
ships. They are covered with snow to the summit, and they 
named them the Sierras Nevadas. 3 At the beginning of them 
a cape is formed which projects into the sea, 4 and which they 
named Cape Nieve. 5 The coast runs from north-northwest 

1 Drake's Bay, lat. 38°. Navarrete thought this might be Monterey Bay 
(Sutil y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxxii.). For Drake's anchorage in this bay 
see W. S. W. Vaux, ed., The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake; J. S. 
Corbett, Drake and the Tudor Navy ; Davidson, Early Voyages, pp. 214r-218 ; 
Davidson, Identification of Sir Francis Drake's Anchorage on the Coast of California 
in the Year 1579 (San Francisco, 1890). 

2 Either the limit of Sierra Santa Lucia, near Point Carmel, or the San 
Martin of the earlier part of the voyage, the former being more likely (Davidson, 
Early Voyages, p. 224). 

3 "It is evident that Ferrelo runs ahead in his narrative to describe in gen- 
eral terms the appearance of the coast range of Mountains from the Gulf of 
Farallones to Cape San Martin, and then returns to take up the details" (David- 
son, Early Voyages, p. 224). 

4 The San Francisco peninsula. 

B "Snow Cape." Black Mountain, lat. 37° 9'. Navarrete says "appar- 
ently Point Afio Nuevo" (Sutil y Mexicana, Introduccion, p. xxxii.). 



1542] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 33 

to south-southeast. It does not appear that Indians live on 
this coast. This Cape Nieve is in thirty-eight and two-thirds 
degrees. Whenever the wind blew from the northwest the 
weather was clear and fair. 

On Thursday, the 23d of the month, they arrived, on the 
return, in the islands of San Lucas, at one of them called La 
Posesion. 1 They had run the entire coast, point by point, 
from Cape Pinos to the islands, and had found no shelter what- 
ever, wherefore they were forced to return to said island be- 
cause during these past days there was a strong wind from the 
west -northwest, and the swell of the sea was heavy. From 
Cape Martin to Cape Pinos we did not see a single Indian, the 
reason being that the coast is bold, rugged, and without shelter. 
But southeast of Cape Martin for fifteen leagues they found 
the land inhabited, and with many smokes, because the coun- 
try is good. But from Cape Martin up to forty degrees we 
saw no sign of Indians. Cape Martin 2 is in thirty-seven and 
one-half degrees. 

Passing the winter on the island of La Posesion, 3 on the 
3d of the month of January, 1543, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, 
captain of the said ships, departed from this life, as the result 
of a fall which he suffered on said island when they were there 
before, from which he broke an arm near the shoulder. He 
left as captain the chief pilot, who was one Bartolome Ferrelo, 
a native of the Levant. At the time of his death he emphati- 
cally charged them not to leave off exploring as much as pos- 
sible of all that coast. They named the island the Island of 
Juan Rodriguez. 4 The Indians call it Ciquimuymu ; the next 
they call Nicalque, and the next, Limu. On this island of La 

1 San Miguel Island, lat. 34° 3'. "Ferrelo again runs ahead of events in 
his narrative in mentioning his approach to the Santa Barbara Islands and then 
returns and describes the coast from Cabo de Pinos (Northwest Cape at Fort 
Ross)" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 224). 

2 Probably Mount Carmel, in lat. 36° 22'. 

3 San Miguel Island. Henshaw remarks : "The three centuries and more 
that have elapsed have witnessed great changes in the appearance of the island 
of San Miguel, evidently then well populated. It has become barren and deso- 
late in the extreme by reason of the drifted sand, which lies on it to the depth of 
many feet and which will doubtless always preserve the secret of Cabrillo's grave" 
(Voyage of Cabrillo, p. 311, note). 

4 San Miguel Island. 



34 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1543 

Posesion there are two pueblos, one called Zaco and the other 
Nimollollo. On the next island there are three pueblos, one 
called Nichochi, another Coycoy, and another Estocoloco. On 
the third island there are eight pueblos, namely, Niqueses- 
quelua, Poele, Pisqueno, Pualnacatup, Patiquiu, Patiquilid, 
Ninumu, Muoc, Pilidquay, and Lilibeque. 

The Indians of these islands are very poor. They are 
fishermen, and they eat nothing except fish. They sleep on 
the ground. Their sole business and employment is fishing. 
They say that in each house there are fifty persons. They 
live very swinishly, and go about naked. 

They remained on these islands from the 23d of November 
till the 19th of January. During all this time, which was 
nearly two months, there were very heavy winter winds and 
rains. The prevailing winds were west-southwest, south- 
southwest, and west-northwest. There were very violent 
winds. 

On Friday, the 19th of the said month of January, 1543, 
they set sail from the island of Juan Rodriguez, which is called 
Ciquimuymu, to go to the mainland in search of some provisions 
for their voyage. As they were leaving the port they encoun- 
tered a heavy wind from the west-northwest, which forced 
them to seek shelter at the other islands of San Lucas. They 
anchored at the island of Limun, which they called San Sal- 
vador. 1 They were forced to weigh anchor again and depart, 
because there was no port other than the shelter of the islands. 
The wind shifted on-shore, 2 and they sailed around these 
islands eight days with very foul winds, taking shelter from 
them under the islands themselves ; and on the twenty- 
seventh of said month they entered the same port of the island 
of Juan Rodriguez where they had been at first. Their great- 
est difficulty was because the winds were not steady, for they 
kept changing about from one direction to another. Those 
most constant are from the west-northwest and west-south- 
west. 

1 Santa Cruz Island, lat. 34° 2'. This name had already been given to 
Santa Catalina Island. From Navarrete one would get the impression that this 
is the same Salvador which he identifies with the San Clemente (Sutil y Mexicana, 
Introduccion, p. xxxiii.). 

2 "From all points" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 226). 



1543] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 35 

Tuesday, the 29th of the said month of January, they set 
sail from the island of Juan Rodriguez for the island of San 
Lucas/ which is between the others, to get certain anchors 
which they had left there during a storm, not being able to 
raise them. 2 They recovered them and took on water. 

They left this island of San Lucas on Monday, the 12th 
of the month of February, not being able to do so sooner be- 
cause of the bad weather, with winds and heavy snow, which 
they encountered. It is inhabited and the people are like 
those of the other island. The Indians call it Nicalque. 
There are three pueblos on it, called Nicochi, Coycoy, and 
Coloco. This day they went to the port of Las Sardinas 3 to 
get wood and other things necessary for their voyage, for 
there were none on the islands. 

On Wednesday, the 14th of the said month, they left the 
port of Las Sardinas, having secured a boatload of wood. 
They did not dare remain there longer because of the heavy 
sea. They did not find so many Indians as at first, nor any 
fishing at all, because it was winter. The natives were eating 
acorns from the oaks, and another seed, and raw plants from,/ 
the field. From here they went to the island of San Salvador, 4 
because they were safer there from the storms in setting sail 
to run out to sea. 

On Sunday, the 18th of the said month of February, they 
left the island of San Salvador with a favorable northeast 
wind, and ran to the southwest, because they told them that 
toward the southwest there were other islands. At nightfall 
of this day, when they were about twelve leagues from the 
island of San Salvador, they saw six islands, some large and 
some small. This day a sailor died. On the following Mon- 
day, at daybreak, they were at sea about ten leagues to wind- 
ward of the islands ; and with the wind in the west-northwest 
they stood off to the southwest five days, at the end of which 
time they had made about a hundred leagues. Finding the 
winds more violent and a heavy sea, on Thursday, the 22d of 
said month of February, they turned again toward the land 

1 Santa Rosa Island, lat. 33° 57'. 

2 Davidson thinks that he probably lost his anchors in Becher's Bay (Early 
Voyages, p. 228). 

3 Off Gaviota Pass, lat. 34° 27'. 4 Santa Cruz Island. 



36 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1543 

to go in search of Cape Pinos, with a wind from the south- 
southeast which lasted for three days and became each day- 
more violent. On the following Sunday, at daybreak, they 
sighted Cape Pinos, 1 and at nightfall of the same day were 
twenty leagues to windward on a coast running from north- 
west to southeast. It is bold and without shelter. Not a 
single smoke was seen on the land. They saw a point 2 which 
was like a spur of land where the coast turned north-northwest. 
At midnight the wind shifted to the south-southwest, and they 
ran west-northwest till next day. In the morning the wind 
shifted to the west-southwest and became very strong, lasting 
till the following Tuesday. They ran toward the northwest. 3 

Tuesday, the 27th of said month, the wind shifted to the 
south-southwest, and continued in that direction all day. 
They ran west-northwest with foresails lowered, because the 
wind was high. At night the wind shifted to the west. They 
ran south all night with but little sail. There was a high sea 
which broke over them. 

On the following Wednesday, the 28th of said month, at 
daybreak, the wind shifted directly to the southwest, and did 
not blow hard. This day they took the latitude in forty-three 
degrees. 4 Toward night the wind freshened and shifted to 
the south-southwest. They ran this night to the west-north- 
west, with great difficulty, and on Thursday, in the morning, 
the wind shifted to the southwest with great fury, the seas 
coming from many directions, causing them great fatigue and 
breaking over the ships ; and as they had no decks, if God had 
not succored them they could not have escaped. Not being 
able to lay-to, they were forced to scud northeast toward the 

1 Northwest Cape, lat. 38° 31' just east of Fort Ross anchorage. 

2 Point Arena, the Punta de Arena of later Spanish navigators, lat. 38° 57' 
(Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 247). Called Cabo de Fortunas by Herrera (His- 
toria General, dec. VII. , lib. V., cap. IV.). 

3 "They saw the great mountain mass which reaches a height of nearly 
4300 feet a little to the northward of Point Delgada at Shelter Cove ; and con- 
tinues as a bold range to the north of Cape Mendocino. They could not have 
seen Point Delgada because it is low and projected on the base of the coast 
mountains" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 230). 

4 "On the 28th of February, 1543, they were out of sight of land, and prob- 
ably in latitude 413^°, allowing a correction of one and a half degrees to his re- 
ported latitude" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 234). 



1543] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 37 

land; and now, thinking themselves lost, they commended 
themselves to Our Lady of Guadalupe and made their vows. 
Thus they ran until three o'clock in the afternoon, with great 
fear and travail, because they concluded that they were about 
to be lost, for they saw many signs that land was near by, both 
birds and very green trees, which came from some rivers, 
although because the weather was very dark and cloudy the 
land was invisible. 1 At this hour the Mother of God suc- 
cored them, by the grace of her Son, for a very heavy rain- 
storm came up from the north which drove them south with 
foresails lowered all night and until sunset the next day ; and 
as there was a high sea from the south it broke every time over 
the prow and swept over them as over a rock. The wind 
shifted to the northwest and to the north-northwest with great 
fury, forcing them to scud to the southeast and east-southeast 
until Saturday the 3d of March, with a sea so high that they 
became crazed, and if God and his blessed Mother had not 
miraculously saved them they could not have escaped. On 
Saturday at midday the wind calmed down and remained 
in the northwest, for which they gave heartfelt thanks to our 
Lord. With respect to food they also suffered hardship, be- 
cause they had nothing but damaged biscuit. 

It appears to them that there is a very large river, of which 
they had much notice, between forty-one and forty-three de- 
grees, because they saw many signs of it. 2 This day in the 
afternoon they recognized Cape Pinos, 3 but because of the 
high sea they were forced to run the coast in return in search 
of a port. They experienced great cold. 

On Monday, the 5th of the month of March, 1543, in the 
morning, they found themselves at the island of Juan Ro- 

1 "They were probably in latitude 42° 30', abreast of Rogue River and work- 
ing their way back to El Cabo de Pinos; but they must have been seventy miles 
broad off the coast, which was therefore not visible. The logs were brought down 
the flooded rivers of this part of the coast; and they always have been a feature 
off the coast north of Mendocino" (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 234). According 
to Herrera on March 1 they took latitude and found it to be 44° (Historia General, 
dec. VII., lib. V., cap. IV.). 

2 "On Saturday, March 3, 1543, they were approaching the coast south of 
Point Arena, but Ferrelo goes back in his narrative" (Davidson, Early Voyages, 
p. 236). 

3 Northwest Cape, lat. 38° 31'. 



38 CALIFORNIA: CABRILLO EXPEDITION [1543 

driguez, 1 but they did not dare enter the port because of the 
high tempest which caused breakers at its entrance in fifteen 
fathoms. The wind was from the north-northwest. The en- 
trance is narrow. They ran to shelter under the island of 
San Salvador 2 on the southeast side. The night before, com- 
ing with a high tempest, with only two small foresails, they 
lost sight of the other ship, and feared that she had been swal- 
lowed up by the sea ; and they were unable to find her again, 
even in the morning. They think that they must have been 
in forty-four degrees when struck by the last storm which 
drove them to shelter. 3 

On Thursday, the 8th of the said month, they left the 
island of San Salvador to go to the mainland in search of the 
other ship. They went to the pueblo of Las Canoas, 4 but 
did not get any news of her. Here they secured four Indians. 

On the following Friday, the 9th of the said month, they 
left the pueblo of Las Canoas and went to the island of San 
Salvador, but still did not find the consort. 

On Sunday, the 11th of said month, they reached the port 
of San Miguel 5 but did not find the consort there, or any 
news of her. Here they waited six days ; here they secured 
two boys to take to New Spain as interpreters, and left cer- 
tain signals in case the other ship should come here. 

On Saturday, the 17th of the said month, they left said 
port of San Miguel. On the following Sunday they reached 
the Bay of San Mateo, 6 but still did not find trace of the 
other ship. 

On Sunday, the 18th of said month, in the afternoon, they 
left this Bay of San Mateo, and on the following Wednesday, 
the 21st of said month, they arrived at the port of La Posesion, 7 
but still found no news of the consort. They waited two days 

1 San Miguel Island, and Cuyler's Harbor, lat. 34° 3'. 

2 Smuggler's Cove, Santa Cruz Island, lat. 34° 2'. " To reach this anchorage 
he must have sailed along the north shore of San Miguel Island, Santa Rosa 
Island, and Santa Cruz Island, and rounded the easternmost point of the latter 
to find shelter from the northwest wind at Smuggler's Cove" (Davidson, Early 
Voyages, p. 238). 

3 The highest point reached was probably 42^°. See note 1, p. 9. 

4 San Buenaventura, nineteen miles north-northeast of Smuggler's Cove. 

6 San Diego Bay. 6 Todos Santos Bay. 

7 Port San Quentin, Lower California. 



1543] RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO 39 

without entering the port, because they did not dare to enter 
it on account of the high northwest wind ; and because they 
parted their cable they were forced to weigh anchor. 

On Friday, the 23d day of said month, they left the port 
of La Posesion, and on the following Saturday, at midnight, 
they reached the island of Cedros ; x and being there on the 
following Monday, the 26th of the said month, the other ship 
arrived at the island of Cedros, whereupon they were greatly 
rejoiced and gave hearty thanks to God. This ship passed 
by 2 the island of Juan Rodriguez, striking some shoals at night 
and they thought they would be lost, but the sailors promised 
Our Lady to make a pilgrimage to her church stripped to the 
waist, 3 and she saved them. 

On Monday, the 2d day of the month of April, they left 
the island of Cedros to return to New Spain, because they had 
no supplies with which to again attempt to explore the coast. 
They arrived in the port of Navidad on Saturday, the 14th 
day of the said month of April. 

As captain of the ships came Bartolome Ferrel, chief pilot 
of the ships, in lieu of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who died on 

the island of La Posesion. In said ships came 4 

men. 

1 Cerros Island. 

2 Paso en. Evans renders this "put into," while Davidson renders it 
"passed by." Relying on this expression and the narrative in Herrera, David- 
son states that the fragata did not make port on San Miguel Island (Isla de Juan 
Rodriguez) but sought shelter on Santa Rosa Island or San Sebastian (Early 
Voyages, p. 238). 

3 En carries, literally, "naked." I here follow a suggestion made by Father 
Zephyrin Engelhardt in a discussion with me in regard to pilgrimages. 

4 Left blank in the manuscript. 



CALIFORNIA 
2. THE VIZCAINO EXPEDITION, 1602-1603 



INTRODUCTION 

Almost simultaneously with the voyage of Cabrillo, Villa- 
lobos crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico and took formal 
possession of the San Lazaro Islands, their name now being 
changed to the Philippines. It was still twenty years before 
the islands were occupied, but in 1565 Legazpi led an expedi- 
tion from Mexico, and during the next six years subdued the 
islands, precisely at the time when the province of Florida was 
being founded by Menendez de Aviles. At once a regular 
trade, conducted by means of the annual Manila galleon, was 
established between Mexico and the Philippines. 

This event gave rise to a new interest in the California 
coast. It was soon learned that the most practicable return 
route from Manila was northward to the Japan current and 
across the Pacific to the California coast in the latitude of 
Cape Mendocino. But the security of this route and of the 
Strait of Anian, whose existence was generally believed in, 
was threatened by the operations of the French and the Eng- 
lish in the northern Atlantic, and by the exploits of Drake and 
Cavendish in the Pacific. By now, a Spanish writer has said, 
"the English had begun to lord it over the South Sea, terroriz- 
ing our coasts by outrages, incendiarism, robbery, and notori- 
ous piracy." Moreover, a port of call on the California coast 
was needed for the Manila galleon, as a place for shelter and 
repairs, and for relief for the sailors from the terrible scourge 
of scurvy. 

With these needs in view, plans were made by Viceroy 
Pedro Moya de Contreras (1584-1585) for exploring the entire 
northwestern coast of America. But little came of them until 

43 



44 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION 

1595, when Cermefio was sent from Manila to explore down 
the California seaboard. At Drake's Bay his vessel, the San 
Agustin, was driven on the coast and wrecked, the crew escap- 
ing to Mexico in two barks built from the planks of the 
ship. 

Simultaneously with the despatch of Cermefio, Sebastian 
Vizcaino was commissioned by Viceroy Velasco to explore the 
Gulf of California and establish settlements on the Peninsula. 
Vizcaino had been for several years a trader between Mexico 
and the Orient. He had been in the Manila galleon, Santa 
Ana, which Cavendish had plundered in 1588. See Hakluyt's 
Voyages. 1 It is significant that at the same time, also, Velasco 
was arranging with Juan de Onate for colonizing New Mexico, 
one of the primary purposes being the protection of the northern 
strait. The three enterprises were directed to a common end. 
After some opposition by the new viceroy, the Conde de Mon- 
terrey, in 1596 Vizcaino set forth with his expedition, planted 
a colony at La Paz, on the site formerly occupied by Cortes, 
and explored many leagues up the inner coast. But an Indian 
attack, lack of provisions, severe weather, and other difficul- 
ties, soon caused the abandonment of the project. 

Vizcaino had failed, and while he was on his expedition a 
royal order had come requiring that his contract be rescinded. 
Nevertheless, he recommended another attempt, and volun- 
teered to undertake it. His plan was to explore the gulf 
completely and to colonize its shores, but it did not look 
to the exploration of the outer coasts. Notwithstanding his 
former opposition, the viceroy now supported Vizcaino's peti- 
tion, admitting that he had found in him more ability than he 
had expected in a mere merchant. He recommended, however, 
that, before attempting to colonize, an exploration be made of 
the gulf and its pearl-fisheries. Referring to the wreck of 
Cermefio, and to the need of a port for the Manila galleons, 

1 VII. 133-135, Everyman ed. 



INTRODUCTION 45 

he suggested that the exploration of the outer coast be com- 
bined with that of the gulf. 

The matter being considered in the Council of the Indies, 
it was decided that Vizcaino should be ordered to continue 
with his contract, which had not been fulfilled, and that the 
coast exploration be undertaken, but that it be done inde- 
pendently of that of the gulf. The royal order for the continu- 
ation of the coastwise exploration was dated September 27, 
1599. To command the expedition the viceroy selected Viz- 
caino, whose enterprise of pearl-fishing and colonizing was 
now turned into one primarily concerned with the outer coast. 
The royal order specifically provided that the expedition should 
not stop in the gulf to explore, and so the open instructions of 
Vizcaino stipulated, but by secret orders Vizcaino was author- 
ized to explore the gulf on his return. 

The king had contemplated an expedition in one vessel, 
but, because of the difficulty of the voyage, the viceroy decided 
to send two ships and a frigate. The San Diego, the captain's 
ship, was brought for the occasion from Guatemala by Captain 
Toribio Gomez de Corban ; the Santo Tomds, admiral's ship, 
was a Peruvian trading vessel purchased at the last moment 
at Acapulco ; the Tres Reyes, a fragata or frigate, was built 
for the voyage at the last-named port. The enlistments were 
made primarily in Mexico City. It being difficult to secure 
men as sailors only, Vizcaino was allowed to raise his standard 
and enlist men as both soldiers and sailors. 

As admiral, in command of the Santo Tomds, went Captain 
Gomez ; as commander of the Tres Reyes, Sebastian Melendez ; 
the chief pilot, with the San Diego, was Francisco de Bolanos, 
who had been wrecked with Cermeno at Drake's Bay in 1595. 
As chief cosmographer the viceroy appointed Captain Gero- 
nimo Martin Palacios, a man of twenty years' experience, who 
had just come from Spain. To insure dignity and authority, 
the viceroy sent six old soldiers, with the title of counsellors 



46 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION 

(entretenidos) for his Majesty. Three men in particular were 
empowered to advise with Vizcaino : Captain Gomez, Captain 
Peguero, and Ensign Alarcon, "exceptional men," who had 
seen service in Flanders and Brittany. Spiritual interests were 
intrusted to three Carmelites, Fray Andres de la Asumpcion, 
Fray Antonio de la Ascension, and Fray Tomas de Aquino. 1 
Father Ascension was a cosmographer, and had been pilot in 
voyages to the Indies before taking the habit in Mexico. 

Vizcaino sailed from Acapulco on May 5. In trying to pass 
San Lucas Bay in June his fleet was three times driven back 
to that port by headwinds, and before reaching Magdalena 
Bay the vessels became separated by storms. At Magdalena 
Bay extensive explorations were made by the San Diego and 
the Tres Reyes. At Cerros Island the vessels were all re- 
united, but, after leaving there on September 9, the Santo 
Tomas again parted company. In November the other ves- 
sels spent five days in San Diego Bay, to which they gave its 
present name. Early in December explorations were made 
at Santa Catalina Island, where the vessels were again reunited. 

The crews were now falling ill, and winter was coming on, 
and haste was necessary. Proceeding therefore into the Santa 
Barbara Canal, so named by Vizcaino, the vessels were driven 
through it by a storm. Rounding Point Concepcion and sail- 
ing close under Santa Lucia Mountain, on December 15 they 
discovered the Bay of Monterey, "the best that could be de- 
sired." This was the capital event of the expedition. 

But it now became necessary to depart from the original 
plan of the voyage. Several men had died, forty-five or more 
were ill of scurvy, and provisions were running short. Accord- 

1 For the preparation of the Vizcaino expedition see especially the corre- 
spondence printed in Carrasco y Guisasola, Documentos referentes al Reconoci- 
miento de las Costas de las Calif ornias desde el Cabo de San Lucas al de Mendocino, 
recopilados en el Archivo de Indias (Madrid, 1882), pp. 36-46; "Instruction y 
horden," ibid., pp. 47-56 ; Torquemada, Monarchia Indiana, I. 693-697; Cesareo 
Fernandez Duro, Armada Espanola, III. 297-300. 



INTRODUCTION 47 

ingly, the Santo Tomds was sent back to secure supplies with 
which to explore the gulf on the return, carrying the sick, and 
leaving the other vessels to continue up the coast. 

Setting out on January 3, 1603, the San Diego anchored 
at Drake's Bay on the 9th. Meanwhile the Tres Reyes had 
parted company. The experiences during the remainder of the 
voyage were strikingly similar to those of the Ferrelo party, 
although much more terrible. The two vessels proceeded sep- 
arately amid storms, and were not reunited until they reached 
Acapulco. Reaching Cape Mendocino on January 12, the San 
Diego attempted to turn back, but was driven to latitude 42°, 
returning thence to Mazatlan in direst distress. 

The little frigate had succeeded in getting farther north 
than the San Diego. After separation from her companion, 
she was driven in the storm till a point was seen called Cape 
Blanco, in latitude reckoned at 43°. Meanwhile the pilot 
had died, and the vessel was left in charge of the boatswain. 
In his declaration made in Mexico he told of discovering a 
great river and bay, which they had tried to enter, in latitude 
41°, just below Cape Mendocino. From Cape Mendocino 
past Cape Blanco, he said, the coast ran northeast. On the 
basis of the boatswain's declaration the chief pilot of the expe- 
dition, Geronimo Martin Palacios, placed on his chart a large 
bay and river, which do not exist in fact, just below Cape 
Mendocino. Torquemada, writing immediately after the ex- 
pedition, told of the attempt of the Tres Reyes to enter a great 
river, but placed it near Cape Blanco, and concluded that it 
was the Strait of Anian. He either got his information from 
some source other than the boatswain's declaration, or else 
misplaced the river, which seems the more probable, as he 
said nothing of a river near Cape Mendocino. He also stated 
that the coast ran northwest above Cape Blanco, whereas the 
boatswain stated that it ran northeast. Trying to identify 
the river mentioned by Torquemada as near Cape Blanco, 



48 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION 

later students have thought it to be the Rogue River. This 
seems to be a departure from the sources. The Vizcaino 
party, like that of Ferrelo, missed the Golden Gate and San 
Francisco Bay. 

The principal printed sources of information regarding the 
Vizcaino expedition of 1602 are contained in Carrasco y Gui- 
sasola, Documentor referentes al Reconocimiento de las Costas 
de las Calif ornias desde el Cabo de San Lucas al de Mendocino 
recopilados en el Archivo de Indias (Madrid, 1882). The work 
contains documents between the dates 1584 and 1609. Con- 
cerning the expedition in 1602, they comprise communications 
of the governments in Mexico and Spain with each other and 
with Vizcaino, the viceroy's instructions to Vizcaino, two 
journals, and a derrotero, or description of the route explored. 
The general diary (pp. 68-107) has no title but begins "Rey- 
nando El rrey don phelipe nuestro senor," etc. (printed here, 
pp. 52-103). Its author is not named, but the attestation at 
the end states that it was taken from "the original book of his 
Majesty." It is hereinafter referred to as Vizcaino's diary. 
The other journal published in Carrasco (pp. 109-148) is en- 
titled "Copia de libro diario llevado por Sebastian Vizcaino 
durante el descubrimiento y demarcacion de las costas del 
mar del Sur, desde el puerto de Acapulco al cabo Mendocino, 
en 1602. " It consists of the records of the juntas, or coun- 
cils, held by Vizcaino with his officers during the voyage. It 
is referred to hereinafter as the Libro Diario. 

The Derrotero (pp. 149-172), written by the cosmographer, 
is entitled " Derrotero de la navegacion desde el puerto de 
acap co . Al cabo Mendogino y Boca de las Californias fecho 
Por El Cap n . geronimo Mm. Palacios cosmografo mayor del 
nuebo descubrimiento," etc. This Derrotero describes the route 
which should be followed, with " latitudes, landmarks, and 
other requisites demanded by the art of navigation." It was 
made in conference with the pilots and in the presence of 



INTRODUCTION 49 

Father Fray Antonio de la Ascension. It gives a most de- 
tailed description of the coast, based on the experience of the 
voyage, but does not relate the incidents of the journey. Ap- 
pended to the Derrotero is the statement by the boatswain 
of the Tres Reyes regarding the voyage of that vessel above 
Drake's Bay. It is entitled "Relacion que dio el Contra- 
maestre de la Fragata de los Tres Reyes, La Qual me dio por 
Escrito el Gen 1 . Sevastian Bizcayno es la Sig te " (pp. 171- 
172). The Derrotero is accompanied by an "Explicacion que 
acompafia a cada una de las vistas de costa y pianos de este 
derrotero " (172-182). It consists of an explanation of thirty- 
three vistas or pianos (charts), which were made to accompany 
the Derrotero. The pianos are not printed in Carrasco y 
Guisasola. In 1603 they were redrawn in colors from the 
original, by Enrico Martinez, royal cosmographer in New 
Spain. 1 On the backs of the charts are the descriptions, corre- 
sponding to the vistas in Carrasco y Guisasola but with differ- 
ent numbering. Two of the charts are reproduced in black 
in Richman, California under Spain and Mexico, pp. 22-23. 
A map combining the charts was published in Madrid in 1802, 
in the Navarrete Atlas para el Viage de las Goletas Sutil y 
Mexicana al Reconocimiento del Estrecho de Juan de Fuca. It 
is referred to hereinafter as the Carta. A complete set of the 
pianos is in the Bancroft Library, and will be published in 
facsimile by Professor Frederick J. Teggart. Their publica- 
tion will be a most important contribution to materials for 
the Vizcaino expedition. 

Most of the documents published by Carrasco y Guisasola 
concerning the antecedents of the expedition and three of 
those narrating events of the voyage are translated by George 
Butler Griffin in Historical Society of Southern California 
Publications, II. (1891) 5-73. The three concerning the 
events of the voyage are letters written by Vizcaino at Aca- 

1 See Fernandez Duro, Armada Espafiola, III. 302, note. 



50 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION 

pulco, May 5, 1602, on the eve of the departure; at the Bay of 
Monterey, December 28, 1602, on the eve of the return of 
the Santo Tomds; and at Mexico City, May 23, 1603, after 
the return of the expedition. 

Father Ascension kept a diary of the voyage and made a 
map, but neither has been published. In 1620 he wrote an 
account of the voyage with his original diary in hand. This 
account (printed hereinafter, pp. 105-134) is published in 
Pacheco and Cardenas, Coleccion de Documentor Ineditos, VIII. 
539-574, under the title "Relacion breve en que se da noticia 
del descubrimiento que se hizo en la Nueva Espaiia, en la mar 
del Sur, desde el puerto de Acapulco hasta mas adelante del 
cabo de Mendocino," etc. It is published from a manuscript 
in the Biblioteca Nacional, at Madrid. With it is printed a 
letter by Francisco Ramirez de Arellano transmitting the nar- 
rative to the king. The Relacion Breve devotes only brief 
space to the events of the voyage, but elaborates the descrip- 
tion of the country, and gives extensive space to recommenda- 
tions regarding the occupation of California. Between 1602 
and 1620 the expeditions of Oiiate and Iturbi to the Gulf had 
given rise to the notion that California was an island instead 
of a peninsula. This theory Father Ascension accepts in his 
narrative. The Relacion Breve therefore may be regarded 
as representing two distinct periods. The narrative of the 
voyage is an authentic though brief account of an eye-witness ; 
the insular theory represents the result of developments sub- 
sequent to 1602, while the recommendations illustrate the ideas 
held in 1620 regarding the colonization of California. 

Most important of all the older accounts by other than 
eye-witnesses is that contained in Torquemada's Monarchia 
Indiana (I. 693-725), which was completed by 1612. Tor- 
quemada wrote from very full sources, having data especially 
regarding the movements of the Santo Tomds which we do 
not possess. His account was reprinted in Venegas's (Bur- 



INTRODUCTION 51 

riel's) Noticia de la California (Madrid, 1757), III. 22-139. 
Venegas states that Torquemada's account was an extracto or 
summary of the relation written by Father Ascension (I. 191). 
The version of Torquemada's account in the English transla- 
tion of Venegas is very incomplete and unsatisfactory at many 
points. A less important early account is that of Zarate- 
Salmeron, "Jornada de Sebastian Vizcaino al Cabo Mendo- 
cino/ ' in Relaciones de todas las Cosas que en el Nuevo Mexico 
se han visto y sabido, asi por Mar como por Tierra, desde el 
Afio de 1538 hasta el de 1626 por el Padre Geronimo de Zarate 
Salmeron (Documentos para la Historia de Mexico, tercera serie, 
Mexico, 1856). 



DIARY OF SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO, 1602-1603 1 

In the reign of our lord, King Philip, the third of this 
name, the Most Illustrious Senor Don Gaspar de Suniga y 
Acevedo, Count of Monte Rey, being viceroy, governor, and 
captain-general of this New Spain, an exploration was made 
of the ports, bays, and inlets of the coast of the South Sea 
from Cape Mendocino, by order of his Majesty, for certain 
purposes of the royal service, Sebastian Vizcayno, a resident 
of Mexico, being the general under whose charge and orders 
went the seamen and soldiers of the said expedition, in the year 
one thousand six hundred and two. 

Chapter 1. 

The Departure of the General from Mexico. 

The said general left the city of Mexico in prosecution of 
his voyage on the day of Santo Tomas de Aquino, which was 
the 7th of March of the said year, taking with him three re- 
ligious of the Discalced Order of Our Lady of Carmen, the 
commissary, Fray Andres de la Umsumgion, 2 Fray Antonio 
de la Asencion, and Fray Tomas de Aquino ; and his son Don 
Juan Vizcaino ; and as chief cosmographer, Captain Geronimo 
Martin 3 de Palagios ; and as counsellors, Captain Alonso Este- 
van Peguero, Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon, Ensign Martin de 
Aguilar Galeote, and Ensign Juan de Azevedo y Pereda; as 

1 Carrasco y Guisasola, Documentos referentes al Reconocimiento de las Costas 
de las Californias, pp. 68-107. 

2 A misprint for Asumpcion. See Torquemada, Monarchia Indiana, I. 695. 

3 The name Martin is here abbreviated into Mm. This frequently occurs 
elsewhere with the name of the cosmographer, and also with that of Ensign 
Martin de Aguilar. Frequently the Mm. becomes Rm. and once Mn. in the 
transcript. But there is no doubt as to the meaning, because both names are 
sometimes spelled out, when the abbreviations do not occur. 

52 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 53 

ensign of the company came Juan Francisco Soriano, and as 
sergeant, Miguel de Legar ; seamen and soldiers, one hundred 
and twenty-six. 1 

Chapter 2. 

The Arrival at the Port of Acapulco. 2 

The general arrived with his men at the port of Acapulco 
on the day of the glorious San Jose, the 19th 3 of the said month 
and year. He found in it the captain's ship San Diego, which 
had arrived from El Rrealejo, 4 the admiral's ship Santo Tomas, 
the frigate Tres Reyes, and the long-boat. The general stayed 
in this port until May 5, careening and overhauling the ships 
and doing other carpentry work, and equipping them with 
eveiything necessary, in which he and his men labored hard, 
and in which, by means of his endeavors and of his outlay 
with calkers and other persons, great service was rendered 
his Majesty, not to mention the large expenditures caused by 
the men. 

Chapter 3. 

The Departure from Acapulco. 

The fleet left the said port on Sunday, the day of San 
Angelo, the 5th of the said month and year. It consisted of 
the said ships, frigate, and long-boat. As admiral went 
Torivio Gomez de Corban; 5 as commander of the frigate, 
Sebastian Melendez ; as chief pilot, Francisco de Bolanos; 
as pilot of the admiral's ship, Juan Pascual ; as his assistant 
and mate, Estevan Rodriguez and Baltasar de Armas ; and 
as pilot of the frigate, Antonio Flores. As patroness and pro- 

1 Father Ascension says that there embarked from Acapulco about two hun- 
dred persons. Those in excess of one hundred and twenty-six must therefore 
have joined the expedition at Acapulco (Relacion Breve, cap. I.). 

2 A port on the southern coast of Mexico, in the state of Guerrero, below lat. 
17°. During most of the Spanish regime it was the port of entry for all trade 
between New Spain and the Philippine Islands. 

3 Torquemada gives the date as the 20th (Monarchia Indiana, I. 695). 

4 A port of Central America, in lat. 12° 28', to which Gomez had been sent 
for vessels. 

5 From Torquemada we learn that Gomez had served many years in the 
cruising service on the coast of France and had held important offices (Monarchia 
Indiana, I. 694). 



54 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

tector, Our Lady of Carmen was carried. We took her on 
board the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, 1 in procession, 
with all the sailors and soldiers in order, with a salute of artil- 
lery and musketry, the bow of the bark in which she was car- 
ried being covered with awning. This gave great pleasure to 
all the men on board the fleet and on the land. 

Sailing out to sea with a light wind, it was necessary to 
await the long-boat in order to tow it behind by a rope, and 
when it came alongside it caught its mast in the yard of the 
sprit-sail and capsized. The men who were in it swam to 
the captain's ship. The general was put to great pains in 
giving directions from on board, and it was righted with no 
little trouble and risk from its beating against the ship. But 
finally it got clear, and we steered up the coast ; and by tack- 
ing back and forth, with a head-wind, but aided by the tides, 
we made the port of La Navidad 2 on Sunday, the 19th of the 
said month, it being necessary to ballast the captain's ship 
and to stop a leak which it had sprung through an auger-hole. 
This was done, and wood and water were taken on ; and on 
Wednesday, the 22d of the said month, we set sail, a council 3 
having previously been held of the said admiral, cosmog- 
rapher, captains, and pilots to consider the order that should 
be observed in the voyage to the islands of Masatlan, and a 
report of what was agreed upon and of our arrival at the said 
port having been despatched to the viceroy by way of Guada- 
lajara. 

Chapter 4. 

The Arrival at and Departure from the Port of Navidad, 

We left the port of Navidad, as stated, Wednesday, at 
eleven at night, in continuation of our voyage, with a land 
breeze and aided by the currents, which were in our favor, al- 

1 The Invention of the Cross, May 3, is doubtless intended. 

2 Lat. 19° 13'. See Cabrillo's diary, p. 13, above, note 1. 

3 The original record of the council held on the San Diego at Navidad is in 
the Libro Diario, Carrasco y Guisasola, Documentos, pp. 109-112. It was agreed 
that to reach Cape San Lucas the voyage should be made along the coast to 
Mazatlan ; in case the vessels should become separated on the way the first to 
arrive must wait there a week and then continue to Cape San Lucas, there to 
wait a week. If still alone at the end of that time, the crew must carve a cross 
on the most prominent tree and leave a written message buried at its foot. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 55 

though with a light wind. We sighted Cape Corrientes on 
Monday, the 27th 1 of the said month, the second day of the 
Feast of Espiritu Santo. 2 This day an observation of the 
sun was made at a small island near the cape, to which was 
given the name of Espiritu Santo. 

Pursuing the voyage, on the next day, Tuesday, we arrived 
off the point of Tintoque, and off Saltelga and Chacala. 3 
These ports were not made, it not being convenient ; and 
without loss of time, with the wind not very favorable, but 
aided by the currents, we made the islands of Masatlan. 4 
We anchored there at eleven o'clock on Trinity Sunday, the 
2d day of the month of June. The general permitted no one 
to go ashore. He alone went on the said islands in order to see 
if there was any water, but found none. A great many birds 
are found on these islands, in such numbers that they gathered 
in flocks which appeared like flocks of sheep ; and with the 
sardines which they had near their nests we could have fed 
many people. 

Chapter 5. 

The Departure from the Islands of Masatlan. 6 

Going forward on the voyage, and having passed Culiacan 6 
a matter of two leagues, the general gave orders to cross the 
entrance of the Calif ornias to the Cape of San Lucas. This 
was done, although with much labor, there being westerly 

1 Lat. 20° 25'. Torquemada says they arrived on the 26th (Monarchic/, 
Indiana, I. 696). 

2 Pentecost. 

3 The Derrotero, pp. 153-154, mentions Punta de Tintoque, fourteen leagues 
above Cape Corrientes. It does not mention Saltelga or Chacala under those 
names. 

4 Islas de San Juan de Macatlan (Vizcaino, Relacion of 1597, in Carrasco 
y Guisasola, Documentos, p. 25). In the Pianos, fol. 62, is a map of Islas de 
Macatlan. The anchorage was on the islands and not on the mainland. 

5 In the text "Islas de Masatlan" is corrupted into " Velas de Masatlan." 

6 Culiacan, in Sinaloa, near lat. 24° 40'. This place was founded in 1531, 
by Guzman, as an outpost of Nueva Galicia. Vizcaino's Relacion of 1597 states 
that from Acapulco to Puerto de Qalagua it was one hundred leagues ; thence to 
Cape Corrientes, sixty leagues ; thence to Mazatlan, sixty leagues ; thence to 
Culiacan, forty leagues ; thence to Baldehermoso [Vallehermoso] in Sinaloa, fifty 
leagues; "from this point one crosses the gulf and mouth of the Californias, 
which is about eighty leagues across" (Carrasco y Guisasola, Documentos, p. 25). 



56 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

head-winds; and going forward by tacking back and forth, 
after five days we found ourselves to be twelve leagues from 
the said Cape of San Lucas. 1 Coasting along the land, on 
Saturday, the 8th day of the month of June, we arrived at the 
said Cape of San Lucas. We anchored in the Bay of San Ber- 
nabe, and because we anchored in it the same day, which was 
the eleventh of the said month, that saint's name was given 
to it. 2 The ship being anchored, the admiral, the rest of the 
captains, and the ensign went ashore with their arms and fifty 
arquebusiers. We found awaiting us on the beach Indians 
to the number of a hundred, and the general, the religious, 
and everyone received them very well, embracing them and 
giving them food and other things, the Indians giving tiger 
and deerskins. That night the Indians went to their ranche- 
rias, and we remained on the beach. Orders were given to 
make ready the net for catching fish, but it was not necessary, 
for God granted that there should be cast upon the beach as 
many sardines as all could eat, with many left over. 

The following day, being the octave of the feast of the 
Most Holy Sacrament, 3 the general ordered a tent pitched 
near the beach in the shelter of a large rock, where stopped the 
men of the ships in which the Englishman Don Tomas plun- 
dered. 4 In this place and tent mass was said, and a proces- 
sion of the most Holy Sacrament held, in which Our Lady of 
Carmen was carried. The general and many men confessed 
and received communion. Father Fray Tomas de Aquino 
preached, and all with much joy, health, and peace gave thanks 
to God for having reached this place. For, in addition to its 
having been very much desired, we found in it many fish of 
different kinds and sardines in abundance, from which the 

1 Davidson at this point by mistake places a paragraph from Ferrelo's voy- 
age under the head of Vizcaino, making it appear that Vizcaino arrived at Cape 
San Lucas on July 2 (Early Voyages, p. 161). 

2 San Lucas Bay, lat. 22° 52' ; Cabrillo's Puerto de San Lucas (Davidson, 
Early Voyages, p. 162). Martin, Pianos, fol. 61, shows on the west coast a "high 
white sand dune," not shown on the Carta. See Explication, 1, in Carrasco, 
Documentos, p. 172 ; Torquemada, Monarchia Indiana, I. 697. 

3 Octave of Corpus Christi, June 13, 1602. 

4 There is clearly a mistake in the copy here. The text reads : "la nao 
Samque Rono El Yngles." I suggest the reading: "Los naos en que rouo El 
Yngles," which I have followed in the translation. The reference is, of course, 
to Thomas Cavendish. See Torquemada, I. 699. 






1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 57 

men received great satisfaction, as the fish were very whole- 
some. We found very good fresh water near the beach in a 
patch of green canes/ and we also found a great number of 
rabbits and several hares, and signs of deer ; but there was no 
fruit. We found incense trees, and some incense was gathered, 
as well as some wood; and they finished making the extra 
sails, to replace those which were worn out. 

Sunday, the 16th of the said month, the general called a 
council 2 of the admiral, cosmographer, captains, and pilots 
for the purpose of determining the order of navigation from 
this place to the island of Serros. It was held, and that 
which was decided was noted down in the council book, with 
great unanimity of all. 3 It being cold, the men asked the 
general that the supply of clothing which was brought be 
distributed, which was thereupon done ; and he also ordered 
an edict proclaimed to the effect that no one should gamble 
or sell them, under pain of death ; likewise that no one should 
harm any Indian, or molest him, or take anything from him 
by force. 

It was agreed to-day that on Wednesday, the 19th of the 
month, the moon being in conjunction, we should set sail in 
continuation of our voyage. This we did, and at four o'clock 
in the afternoon the captain's ship set sail, the others follow- 
ing. After we had rounded the cape, when six leagues from 
it a northwest wind came up which forced us to take shelter 
in the same bay, where we remained another two days, until 
it grew calm. We set sail a second time, but having arrived 
at the place before-mentioned the same wind struck us again 
and forced us to put into port. 4 We were there three more 

1 See the Carta, and Pianos, fol. 61. 2 See Libro Diario, p. 112. 

3 It was agreed in the council that in case of parting company in a storm 
the vessels should put into the nearest and best bay discovered or return to San 
Bernabe, to await the others. In order to avoid trouble with the natives, no 
landing must be made of less than thirty armed men ; orders must be obeyed on 
pain of death ; Indians must not be ill treated, nor presents received except by 
the commander of the landing party (Libro Diario, pp. 113-114). 

4 On June 21 a junta was held on the San Diego; already two attempts had 
been made to sail. It was now agreed that a new attempt should not be made 
till a change of weather or till full moon. Later in the same day the wind had 
shifted to the southeast and a new junta advised sailing with it, lest they be held 
in the port by the wind (Libro Diario, pp. 114-115). 



58 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

days, until the eve of the feast of the glorious San Juan Bap- 
tista, 1 when, being desirous of going forward, we that night 
set sail the third time ; but after sailing five days, during which 
we struggled as best we could, we were driven back with much 
force to the same bay and cape, where we remained until 
July 5. Then, with a favoring land breeze, we set sail in con- 
tinuation of our voyage. A council being held, the long-boat 
was left in a pool of fresh water, with the concurrence of all, 
since it was the opinion that it would be lost and would give 
the captain's ship much trouble in towing it astern, and that 
it was not fit to sail because of the heavy seas on the coast. 

Chapter 6. 

The Departure from the Cape of San Lucas and the Arrival at 
Santa Maria Madalena. 

We set out from the said cape and bay of San Bernabe on 
July 5, as has been said, and after going two leagues out to sea, 
sailing with a strong wind, we met with a moderate head-wind, 
and, tacking against it, sailed with great difficulty. After six 
days we sighted some high, broken mountains, to which we 
drew near in order to see whether there was any port there, 
and whether we could find the frigate, which had parted com- 
pany the day after we left the said bay. 

On the 18th of the said month, the day of Samcta Marina, 
we discovered a bay 2 and tried to enter it. Being near land 
we found soundings of six fathoms. The tide turned, and for 
this reason and because it was night, we stood off shore. In 
the morning we saw that it was a wild coast which showed no 
safe harbor. We coasted along till the 19th day of said month, 
when we came upon an inlet, outside of which we remained 
with lowered sails to await the admiral's ship, which was three 
leagues to the leeward. 

The next morning we could not see her, and we continued 

1 June 24. 

2 Santa Marina Bay, lat. 24° 20'; "Bahia enganossa de Santa Marina" 
(Derrotero, p. 157) ; Cabrillo's Puerto de la Trinidad (Davidson, Early Voyages, 
p. 164) ; shown on the Pianos, fol. 66. Near this bay the charts show and the 
Derrotero mentions the point of the Sierra de Santa Margarita, evidently Ca- 
brillo's Punta de la Trinidad (Derrotero, p. 157 ; Early Voyages, p. 164). 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 59 

our voyage and entered a very large bay, which was named the 
Bay of Madalena. 1 The general ordered Ensign Juan Fran- 
cisco to go on shore and explore it, and to send four arque- 
busiers to a point made by the bay, and two others to 2 a high 
hill, with orders to make smoke signals to the admiral's ship, 
thereby to let her know that we were there. Although this 
was done, and the men of the admiral's ship saw the smoke 
signals, they did not understand them out at sea. The chief 
pilot, Francisco de Bolanos, set out in the boat, making every 
effort to reach the acbxriral's ship, but he could not do so be- 
cause the wind freshened. The chief pilot returned, and this 
day, which was the feast of the Magdalene, mass was said on 
land. 

The following day the general agreed that the bay should 
be mapped, and the land and its people examined ; that the 
cosmographer should sound it and map it; and that Ensign 
Pascual de Alarcon, with twenty arquebusiers, should explore 
the land, find out who the people were, and search for water, 
of which the captain's ship had great need. 

They set out upon this undertaking and went twelve 
leagues about the bay, but did not find water to any consider- 
able amount, although between two hills, half a league from 
the beach, a pool was found where in the rainy season the water 
collects. It was not very fresh and was green, but the bottles 
we carried were filled with it. A great number of Indians 
came to the ensign in different places, with their bows, arrows, 
and small, fire-hardened darts, although they were friendly, 
for they gave up their arms as a sign of peace. They are a 

1 Magdalena Bay, lat. 24° 32' ; the Puerto de San Pedro of Cabrillo. Shown 
on the Pianos, fol. 68. Described in Explicacion, vista 10. The Derrotero says : 
"This Sierra is called Santa Margarita, and between the point which it makes 
toward the northeast and the coast behind it it forms a bar, within the Ensenada 
Emgafiossa de Santa Marina. There are inside of said bar a port and anchorage, 
the entry being five fathoms at least ; and within there is great depth. It com- 
municates with La Vaya de la Madalena. From the southeast point of the 
Sierra de Santa Margarita, as they call the very point, to the said bar of Santa 
Marina, it is four leagues" (Derrotero, p. 157). Torquemada (Monarchia 
Indiana, I. 700), says that the flagship entered Magdalena Bay, but that her con- 
sort did not enter on account of the fogs ; and that mass was said ashore on Santa 
Magdalena' s day, hence the name given the bay. See Early Voyages, p. 165. 

2 In the text & is corrupted into 6. 



60 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

well featured and robust race, though naked and living in 
rancherias. Their food is commonly of fish and maize, for 
there are great quantities of fish of many kinds. They fish 
with enclosures of sticks, catching in this way many mussels 
and shell fish. There are many whales, which are sometimes 
stranded on the beach of this bay, for we found many of their 
bones. 

Thursday, the 25th of the said month, the frigate arrived, 
which gave much pleasure to all the men. Ensign Sebastian 
Melendes reported that on account of the strong wind he had 
returned to take shelter at Cape San Lucas five days after he 
had put out to sea. They had improved the time while there 
in caulking the hatchways. Moreover, they said that they 
had entered the Bay of Santa Marina, which has been men- 
tioned above, and that at the end of it they had found a very 
good port, where many Indians came out to them, like the 
others, and in sign of peace gave them their arms, which are 
arrows and small wooden darts, which they also use for fishing. 
The next day after the frigate had arrived, there being a lack 
of water, Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon went in it, with the boat of 
the captain's ship, to the pool whence the green water had been 
brought before, but he secured only seventy bottles ; and al- 
though they made great efforts, no other fresh water was found. 
This land is very dry and on the side of the mainland is very 
flat, the greater part consisting of sand dunes and the rest 
being sparsely wooded. During the dry season the Indians 
drink brackish water from waterholes which they make near 
the salt water. Seeing that there was no water here and that 
time was passing, it was agreed to set sail on Saturday, the 27th 
of the month. As we sailed out this day from the entrance of 
the bay the wind went down, and the tide, setting in, forced 
us to anchor. At midnight we stood out with a land breeze, 
the boat in tow, and on Sunday at nine o'clock, when four 
leagues out at sea, we came up with the frigate. The general 
ordered a rope given it so that it might be towed astern and 
not become separated again from the captain's ship. 






1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 61 



Chapter 7. 

The Arrival at and Departure from the Bay of Madalena and the 
Voyage to the Port of San Bartolome. 

We set out, as has been said, on Sunday, with favorable 
wind, on our way to the island of Serros. Some five leagues 
from land we discovered the entrance of another large bay, 1 
which we attempted to go into in order to protect ourselves 
from the northwest wind. At its entrance, on the point toward 
the northwest, there were some shoals which extended out as 
far as the middle of the mouth of the bay. Having arrived 
off these, we were obliged to stand away to sea and continue 
our voyage. This bay was named Santa Marta. Tacking 
back and forth, on Tuesday, the 30th of the said month, we 
discovered a bay, 2 and in the middle of it what appeared to 
be a river or port. The general ordered the cosmographer 
to go in the frigate to examine it and take soundings and bring 
back a report of what was there. He did so, and as he drew 
near with the frigate the breakers were rolling in on all sides. 
As it was of no importance he returned to the captain's ship, 
and the general bade him come aboard. 

We continued our voyage, skirting along this coast because 
of our great need of water, and at the end of it we saw another 
large bay 3 and two leagues of land near it. The general or- 

1 Santa Maria Bay, lat. 24° 44' ; the Bahia de San Martin of Cabrillo (Early 
Voyages, p. 165). The Derrotero, p. 159, notes Punta de San Lacaro two leagues 
above Ensenada de Santa Marta. This is now Cape San Lazaro, lat. 24° 48' 
(Early Voyages, p. 166). See Pianos, fol. 69; Explicacion, vista 11. 

2 Torquemada (Monarchia Indiana, I. 701) says : "This place or inlet 
called San Christoval had been surveyed by the admiral's ship. . . . The inlet was 
named San Christoval because it was surveyed on the anniversary of that saint." 
In this inlet is the entrance of Boca de San Domingo, lat. 25° 21'. The south- 
ern end of the lagoon heads in Magdalena Bay (Early Voyages, p. 167). The 
Pianos, fol. 71, show two "ensenadas" above the "ensenada larga" where the 
Carta shows only one. The Bay of San Christoval may have been one of these. 

3 Torquemada (I. 701) states that on the night of July 30 they reached 
Bahia de las Ballenas, seeing, just before reaching it, "another large bay," which 
they could not enter for the shoals. See Early Voyages, p. 169. Bahia de las 
Ballenas is Ballenas Bay, in lat. 26° 45', and the Puerto de Santiago of Cabrillo. 
Bahia de las Ballenas had already been explored by the Santo Tomds before the 
San Pedro reached it ; it was given the name from the multitude of whales seen 



62 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

dered the launch sent ahead to take soundings and find out 
whether it had a harbor, so that the captain's ship could anchor 
and search for water. 1 When he came near land he found a 
reef more than three leagues long, with breakers throughout 
its length. Seeing, therefore, that there was no entrance to 
it, he made the accustomed signal, and we steered out to sea, 
continuing our voyage with great thirst, and with difficulty 
on account of head-winds. 

On the 8th of the month of August of the said year we ar- 
rived at a headland which seemed to us a suitable place for 
casting anchor; and there, with the boats of the captain's 
ship and the frigate, we anchored. On inspection the coast 
was seen to be very wild, without a sign of a river or port. 
As we had anchored where the southeast wind was onshore, 
at midnight of this day the general ordered us to set sail in 
continuation of our voyage. 

The next day the headland 2 was rounded, though with 
difficulty, for out at sea, two leagues from it, we discovered 
some shoals, to which we gave the name of Los Abreojos. 3 
Having rounded these, we tacked back and forth along the 
coast in search of the island of Serros. On the 11th and 12th 
of the said month a strong northwest wind struck us, which 
made us lower the mainsails, there being a heavy sea. That 
night the wind went down and we veered toward land; but 
anchorage was not found, and we therefore stood out to sea 
again with a favorable wind. 

there (Monarchia Indiana, I. 702 ; Early Voyages, pp. 168-169). The name does 
not appear on the Pianos or the Carta or in the vistas, but on the Pianos, fol. 73, 
an unnamed "ensenada" is shown. The bay reached just before Ballenas Bay- 
must be the one shown on the Carta as hemmed in by the "Arecifes." Mapped 
in the Pianos, fol. 73, and described in Explicacion, vista 14. 

1 This appears to have been August 2. On that day the San Diego being 
in lat. 26^°, and about two leagues from the shore, near what seemed to be a 
bay or inlet, Vizcaino took the opinion of his counsellors as to whether it should 
be examined to search for water and wait for the Santo Tomds, which had not been 
seen for over fourteen days. They agreed that the launch should go in, and, if 
water were found, that the San Diego should follow (Libro Diario, pp. 115-116). 

2 Abreojos Point ; Cabrillo's Punta de Santiago (Early Voyages, p. 168). 
The Derrotero, p. 169, gives Punta de Abreojos in 27 J4°- Shown in the Pianos, 
fol. 74 ; described in Explicacion, vista 15. 

3 Abreojos Rocks, off Abreojos Point, lat. 26° 46'. Vizcaino did not pass 
between the point and the Abreojos Rocks (Derrotero, p. 160). 






1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 63 

The following day, the feast of San Epolito, we arrived at 
a bay 1 which had good protection from the northwest and 
which gave indications of having water. At nightfall a north 
wind blew from the land and obliged us to go outside. As it 
was strong and favorable, we sailed with it all that night, 
and at five o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, the 
fourteenth, eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, 
we found ourselves near a little island which had to the north 
of it an inlet, in which we found anchorage the same day at 
sunset. As soon as it was morning on the day of Our Lady, 
the general ordered Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon to embark in 
the boat with sailors and soldiers and go ashore. He found 
on the beach some Indians who were peaceful, for they pointed 
out to them several small wells of scanty, brackish water. 
Thereupon the ensign returned with this report, which was 
received with great disappointment. s 

Because of our great need of water, and because to go for- 
ward without finding it would be very rash and to risk our 
dying of thirst, the general directed Ensign Martin to arrange 
to go with four soldiers and follow the coast to the windward, 
to another inlet, three leagues beyond this place, charging 
him to put forth his utmost endeavors. The said ensign re- 
turned at sunset the same day with the report that he had 
found good water and a saline a little more than two leagues 
from where we were anchored, which gave us all great joy. 
The soldiers brought some green tomatoes. 

The same night we set sail with a land breeze, passing roimd 
and measuring the little island, to which was given the name 
La Asuncion. 2 About two o'clock of the same day we were 
off another island, some three leagues distant from the last 
one, to which was given the name San Roque. 3 We cast 

1 San Hipolito Bay, lat. 26° 58', half-way between Abreojos and Asuncion 
Island (Early Voyages, p. 170). Ensenada de San Hipolito on the Carta. See 
Pianos, fol. 75 ; Explicacion, vista 16. The feast of St. Hippolytus was August 13. 

2 Asuncion Island, off Asuncion Point ; Pianos, fol. 75 ; Explicacion, vista 
17. By the Santo Tomas this and San Roque Island were called Las Islas de 
San Roque. They were not named by either Ulloa or Cabrillo (Early Voyages, 
p. 170). The Derrotero, p. 161, mentions Punta de San Epolito (Asuncion Point, 
lat. 27° 7'); Isla de la Asuncion, and Isla de San Roque. 

3 San Roque Island, lat. 27° 814' (Early Voyages, p. 170). Shown in the 
Pianos, fol. 75 ; described in Explicacion, vista 17. 



64 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

anchor between it and the mainland. The general ordered 
Ensign Alarcon to embark and go ashore where Martin de 
Aguilar had directed. They carried pickaxes and dug wells, 
putting in a quarter pipe. The water that ran into it was 
salty, and that which overflowed it fresh, which was considered 
a miracle wrought by God. We got thirty quarters and two 
hundred bottles, although with much trouble, for there was 
a heavy surf on the beach, which capsized the boat several 
times. Some bottles were broken and our men escaped 
drenched, with their arquebuses in their hands; but as we 
were in great need of the water they did not mind working 
at such a risk. 

As the admiral's ship was missing, the general, desirous of 
learning about it, ordered Ensign Juan Francisco Serriano 1 
to go with four arquebusiers to a very high hill which was 
about four leagues farther on, and from there to look for the 
admiral's ship and see whether there was any bay ahead. 
The ensign went and returned the same day, saying that the 
ship was not in sight and that there was no bay ahead of any 
consequence ; that he had found some rancherias of Indians, 
who had in their huts skins of sea-wolves, of which they were 
making sandals, 2 and that there were many roads leading from 
there and indications of many people, although they did not 
wait for them to take some salt from the saline. 

Tuesday, the 20th of the said month, we set sail in con- 
tinuation of our voyage, although with the slack wind we ordi- 
narily had had up to here, and by tacking back and forth we 
skirted the coast till the 23rd, the eve of the feast of San Bar- 
tolome, when we discovered a very good port, which at first 
seemed to be the island of Serros. We went into it and cast 
anchor, and Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon went ashore. Al- 
though efforts were made, there were found neither water 
nor people nor anything of consequence. Captain Geronimo 
Martin, cosmographer, observed the said port and said it was 
very good. We gave it the name of Puerto de San Barto- 
lome. 3 

1 Suriano. 2 Ca, des in the text, a misprint for cades. 

3 Port San Bartolome, lat. 27° 39' ; Cabrillo's Puerto de San Pedro Vincula. 
Five leagues above San Roque Island, and before reaching Port San Bartolome, 
the Derrotero notes Morro Hermoso, still so called, lat. 27° 30' {Early Voyages, p. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 65 



Chapter 8. 

The Departure from the Port of San Bartolome and the Arrival 
at the Island of Serros. 

We left this port, as has been stated, on August 23, * at eight 
o'clock at night, in continuation of our voyage. Proceeding 
along the coast, with the wind generally slack, by tacking back 
and forth we arrived at some high mountains and a headland 
on the eve of the feast of San Agustin, the twenty-seventh of 
the said month. Although great efforts were made to round 
the headland, the weather would not permit it. It appeared 
that this land was an island, and that there was another to 
the leeward, with a large inlet between them. 2 The general 
directed Captain Geronimo Martin to go with the frigate to 
explore it and take soundings, while the captain's ship re- 
mained out at sea. The said Captain Geronimo Martin went 
with great labor and difficulty because of the strong head-wind. 
He made land the following day, going ashore and exploring 
inland, and placing sentinels on the hills to see if the captain's 
ship was following. 

Saturday, the last of the said month, the wind having veered 

172). See also the Carta; Pianos, fol. 76; Explicacion, vista 18. Torquemada 
(Monarchia Indiana, I. 704) states that the capitana and fragata found on the 
shore at San Bartolome "a resin which, because it did not have a good odor, 
no one wished to take. Some have supposed it to be amber, and it would not 
be surprising if this were so, because there were great numbers of whales there, 
and, as they say, this is amber. This may be true, and if so there is enough there 
to load a ship." See Early Voyages, p. 173. Cf. Father Ascension's diary (below, 
p. 116) for a statement concerning the amber (ambergris). 

1 Torquemada (Monarchia Indiana, I. 704) states that the San Pedro and 
the tender left Port San Bartolome in the night of August 24, the day they ar- 
rived. See Early Voyages, p. 175. 

2 Six leagues above Puerto de San Bartolome the Derrotero (p. 162) indi- 
cates Punta de San Eugenio in lat. 283^°, and west of this point Isla de la Nativi- 
dad de Nuestra Sefiora, which on approach appeared to be one with the point. 
The island was eight and one-half leagues around. Between the island and the 
point there is noted a passage of nearly three leagues (Derrotero, p. 162). Also 
in Pianos, fol. 77, and Explicacion, vista 19. The island was Natividad Island, 
lat. 27° 53'. Punta de San Eugenio is now called Point Eugenio, lat. 27° 50'. 
Davidson, who did not have access to the Derrotero, remarks that Point Eugenio 
is not described by either Cabrillo or Vizcaino (Early Voyages, p. 176). The pas- 
sage between the point and the island is nearly four miles wide (ibid., p. 174). 



66 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

with great force to the northwest against the captain's ship, 
it put in at a harbor on the southeast shore; 1 and having cast 
anchor with great anxiety because the admiral's ship and launch 
were missing, God deigned that the admiral's ship should sail 
round a headland formed by the eastern shore of the same 
land. This gave great pleasure to the men of both ships be- 
cause for forty-one days they had not seen each other. Im- 
mediately we sent them the shallop, and the admiral told how 
he had arrived here twelve days before, at a place where there 
was a good anchorage and water, although the latter was a 
league inland and was brackish. However, as there was great 
need for it, it seemed to all of them very good and to be near. 
There was a great abundance of fish. 

Immediately the general gave orders to sail from where they 
were, and to cast anchor where the admiral had said. This 
was done, and the two ships setting sail with the same wind, 
God granted that the captain's ship should make port and cast 
anchor, the admiral's ship remaining outside, since it was not 
able to come in, and in order that they might see the frigate 
which was to windward awaiting the captain's ship, for she 
had left it out at sea ; and thus it was that Captain Geronimo 
Martin saw her, and she understanding what the captain's 
ship wished, he went alongside of her, and at ten o'clock at 
night recognized her to be the admiral's ship. At this they 
were greatly pleased, and still more so when told that the cap- 
tain's ship was anchored further on. 

The next day, September 2, they reached the place where 
the captain's ship was, and the general ordered a council held. 2 
It was held, and he proposed to the members, if it were best, 
that Captain Geronimo Martin should go in the frigate to 
circumnavigate and measure this land, for there was doubt 
as to whether or not it was an island, as it appeared very large. 
It was agreed that he should go, being given eight days' time 
for it, and that meanwhile the captain's and admiral's ships 
should be provided with wood and water, Captain Peguero 
and Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon being put in charge of this 
work. 

1 South Bay, on the southeast side of Cape San Agustin, Cerros Island 
(Early Voyages, pp. 174-175). See Pianos, fol. 78; Explicacion, vista 20. 

2 It was held on the San Diego, in lat. 29° (Libro Diario, pp. 116-117). 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 67 

Captain Geronimo Martin departed on Tuesday at two 
o'clock in the afternoon to carry out this undertaking. On the 
following day the general, with the religious, went ashore. 
After mass was said, he went to the place where they were 
getting wood and water and saw that the water was scanty 
and poor, and that they were securing it only with much 
trouble and that the men were becoming worn out and ill. 
Reflecting that so large a land could not lack wood and water, 
that the place he was in was convenient for the ships coming 
from China, and that it was proper for him to investigate 1 the 
resources of the land in order to take back a more complete 
report, he held a council of war regarding the matter, consist- 
ing of the admiral, captains, counsellors, and ensign. It was 
agreed that an entrance into the interior should be made; 
that twenty arquebusiers should go, well equipped, since in 
the said land there had been seen warlike men who had been 
impudent and who had broken twenty bottles which the men 
of the admiral's ship had left on land because they could not 
get them aboard; and that Ensign Juan Francisco and Ser- 
geant Miguel de Legar should go for three days, with strict 
injunction to treat the Indians kindly and to search for wood 
and water, which was our greatest necessity. 2 

The ensign set out with twenty men on the 3rd of the said 
month to make the attempt, and at the end of two days he 
returned, reporting that the country was very rough ; that on 
the slope of a great mountain range there was a large forest 
of pines ; and that two leagues beyond the place where they 
were anchored, on the very shore of the sea, there was a stream 
of fresh spring water which issued from some clumps of rushes 
and which was plentiful and good. Upon hearing the good 
news the general ordered them to weigh anchor immediately, 
and within two hours the watering place was reached, 3 where 
anchor was cast. Thursday afternoon, the 5th of the said 
month, a landing was made. A pipe of the forge-bellows was 

1 The text reads "sta uiesse," evidently a misprint for "sse uiesse." 

2 Libro Diario, p. 118. The reason given for sending Juan Francisco and 
Miguel de Lagar (sic) was that Peguero and Alarcon were occupied in preparing 
the ships for the voyage. 

3 The Derrotero gives a full description of Cerros Island, pp. 162-163. See 
Early Voyages, p. 174 ; the Pianos, fol. 78 ; Explication, vista 20. 



68 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

carried and put into the spring, and a stream filled the pipe. 
Without more time or labor than putting the bottle or barrel 
at the pipe it was filled, and it was not two steps 1 from the 
sea where the boats arrived. It was regarded as a miracle 
which God, our Lord, performed for us. Very good oak, 
mastic, and sabine wood were found, and a cabin was built 
on land wherein mass was said. Wood was taken on and the 
next day, Saturday, the 7th of said month, the image of Our 
Lady was brought forth, and was received on shore with a 
salute of arquebuses and musketry. 

The next day, Sunday, mass was sung and there was a 
procession. Father Fray Tomas de Aquino preached, 2 and 
after divine services were over Captain Geronimo Martin, 
Father Fray Antonio de la Asemgion, and Ensign Sebastian 
Melendes, commander of the said frigate, reported that they 
had been along the land, that it was the island of Serros, and 
that they had measured around it for twelve leagues when a 
northwest wind came up and obliged them to turn back 
southeast to the mainland, where they went ashore, finding 
neither Indians nor water. They went to an island two leagues 
from the mainland, 3 and Captain Geronimo Martin surveyed 
it, took soundings, and returned. 

Having arrived there, as has been said, the general ordered 
the frigate supplied with water and wood, and that it should 
be given canvas for a maintopsail which it needed. This 
was done, and immediately the general ordered a conference 
and sea council, 4 composed of the admiral, cosmographer, 
pilot, and assistants, concerning the order of navigation from 
here to Cape Mendogino. It was agreed, besides other things 
which are in the book of decisions, that we should continue 
our voyage. Thereupon we set sail in continuation of our 
voyage Monday, the 9th of the said month of September. 

1 The text reads possos, a misprint for passos. 

2 The text reads pedrico, instead of predico. 

3 From the description this seems to have been Natividad Island. 

4 Libro Diario, pp. 118-119. The next stage of the voyage marked off was 
to Isla de las Cenizas. It was agreed that the vessels should try to keep together, 
but in case of a storm from the north they were to return to Cerros Island or 
some port above it to wait eight days, or, in case of southeast winds, to go to 
Cenizas Island, to wait twelve days. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 



Chapter 9. 

The Departure from the Island of Serros, and the Arrival at the 
Island of San Geronimo. 

Monday, the 9th of the said month of September, we set 
sail from the island of Serros in continuation of our voyage, 
and Wednesday, the 11th of the said month, we sighted the 
mainland toward the north-northeast. Skirting along the 
coast in search of some bay and port for shelter from the north- 
west wind, it being that which troubled us, on Friday, the 13th, 
we discovered an inlet sheltered from the said northwest wind. 
It was entered, the captain's and admiral's ships and the frig- 
ate cast anchor, and Ensign Pascual de Alarcon, with twenty 
men, went on shore. They took the net and caught a quan- 
tity of white fish, like that of Mechoacan, and of sole, both 
very good. On land a very broad and long road was found 
leading to the beach. 1 Not to lose time, we set sail the same 
night, following along the coast. On the beach the Indians 
signalled to us by great columns of smoke both day and night, 
from which we inferred that there were many Indians. 

Sunday, the 15th, we sighted the very conspicuous, 2 cliff- 
like, white sandstone cape of Samta Maria. 3 It seemed best 

1 The Derrotero, the Carta, the Pianos, fol. 79, and the Explicacion, vista 
21, all mention two bays here three leagues apart. The westernmost was called 
Ensenada del Pescado Blanco, which seems to have been Blanco Bay, lat. 29° 4', 
the other being La Playa Maria Bay, lat. 28° 55'. Torquemada (Monarchia 
Indiana, I. 706) calls the easternmost bay San Hipolito and the westernmost 
San Cosme y San Damian, which Davidson identifies as La Playa Maria Bay 
and Blanco Bay. From the circumstances mentioned by Torquemada, his San 
Hipolito Bay seems to be Ensenada del Pescado Blanco. Neither the Carta, the 
Pianos, the Vistas, nor the Derrotero mentions a Bay of San Hipolito here. See 
Early Voyages, p. 178. 

2 The text reads: "Descubrimos un cauo tajado muy conocido de barrial 
bianco de Samta Maria." This is ambiguous, for muy conocido may mean either 
"conspicuous" or "very well known." 

3 Apparently Point Canoas, lat. 29° 25', the Punta del Mai Abrigo of Ca- 
brillo. The Derrotero, p. 164, calls it El Cavo Blamco de Samta Maria, gives 
the latitude as 303^° scant, and locates it five leagues southeast of the Ensenada 
of San Francisco, which in turn is given as nine leagues from Cavo Bajo y Ysla 
de San Geronimo. The distance from San Geronimo Island corresponds with 
that of Point Canoas, which is thirteen leagues from San Geronimo Island. 



70 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

to go to it in the frigate in order to survey it and take its bear- 
ings and altitude, since it is very important for the ships that 
may go to the Philippines, f or, having sighted it, they may hold 
their course to the island of Serros. Therefore the general 
ordered the frigate to come up alongside, whereupon the cos- 
mographer, Captain Geronimo Martin, went aboard. On 
Monday, the 17th 1 of the month, he set out to make this at- 
tempt. The next day, Tuesday, there came up a very strong 
northwest wind, with much fog, so that the ships could not 
see one another. At six o'clock in the afternoon of this day 
the captain's and admiral's ships agreed to He by until dawn 
the next day, Wednesday. This day they resolved to put in 
at the Bay of Pescado Blanco previously mentioned, 2 because 
the admiral's ship, being old, could not withstand it. While 
coasting along shore it grew dark before they reached the bay, 
and for this reason they did not enter, but stood out to sea. 

The same night the wind went down, whereupon we turned 
back in continuation of our voyage, and Friday and Saturday 
we reached the place where we had put in before. Sunday 
evening, the 20th, 3 the eve of the feast of the Apostle San 
Mateo, the wind again became heavy, though not so strong, 
with the same threatening weather. That night the admiral's 
ship parted company, and although attempts to find her were 
made for two days, searching back and forth, she was not to 
be seen. It was thought she had put into the Bay of Pescado 
Blanco. The captain's ship went hugging the land in search 
of the frigate, which had been missing for eight days, and on 
Sunday, the 29th of the month, we discovered her, which caused 
no little satisfaction, great pleasure to the general, and joy to 
all, for we had been feeling great anxiety and fear lest she had 
met with some accident during the past storm. Captain 
Geronimo Martin came aboard the captain's ship, the frigate 
putting out its canoe to bring him. He said that during the 
past storm he had put into a large bay four leagues from this 

1 Evidently this should be the 16th. 

2 Blanco Bay, lat. 29° 4', the Ensenada del Pescado Blanco, mentioned on 
p. 69, above, note 1. 

z This is evidently an error. The 20th was the eve of St. Matthew, but the 
22d was Sunday. Moreover the junta held on September 30 states that the 
almiranla strayed on the 22d. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 71 

place ; 1 that in this bay there was a great number of Indians, 
who came out to them in reed canoes ; 2 that during the second 
storm they had been under shelter of a small island, which 
was to leeward ; that he had turned back in search of us, and 
on the 28th of the month had returned to the said bay, be- 
cause it appeared that we were keeping to leeward, and from 
there he saw us at four o'clock in the afternoon ; that the cap- 
tain's ship was about to cast anchor, and that it had shelter 
from the northwest wind. As the weather was favorable the 
general gave orders to continue our voyage, and by tacking 
back and forth we found ourselves off the island where the cap- 
tain had been, to which was given the name San Geronimo. 3 
Having rounded it the northwest wind struck us with greater 
fury, and the general, seeing that the admiral's ship, which re- 
mained behind, and the frigate could not weather so great a 
storm at sea, decided to put into the bay which has been pre- 
viously mentioned. In it we, the captain's ship and the frig- 
ate, cast anchor October 2. 4 

On the beach were a number of Indians, both men and 
women. The general agreed with the members of the council 
to land, to reconnoitre, and to make a complete report of every- 
thing. 5 Ensign Pascual de Alarcon, with twenty arquebusiers, 
at once embarked in the boat, the Indians awaiting them on 
the beach peacefully. Presents were given them, and they 

1 This seems to be the bay entered October 2, as stated below. The latter 
was Bahia de San Francisco. According to the Derrotero, p. 164, it was nine 
leagues from San Geronimo Island. The Carta and the Pianos show it, without 
a name, above Ensenada de Canoas. 

2 De nea, i. e., de enea. Cf. Torquemada, I. 707. 

3 San Geronimo Island, lat. 29° 48', the Isla de San Bernardo of Cabrillo 
(Early Voyages, p. 182). Pianos, fol. 80; Explicacion, vistas 22, 23. Juntas of 
the officers of the San Diego and the Tres Reyes were held on September 30, 
October 1 and 2. Finally it was agreed to land (Libro Diario, pp. 120-121). 
The Derrotero gives San Geronimo Island as nine leagues from Ensenada de 
Canoas and five from Cavo Blanco de Santa Maria, and as in lat. 30^°. The 
Pianos, fol. 80, show the little bay, unnamed, six leagues from San Geronimo 
Island and three from the Ensenada de Canoas. 

4 Torquemada (Monarchia Indiana, I. 707) states that on the eve of the 
feast of San Francisco, October 3, they put into La Bahia de San Francisco. See 
Early Voyages, p. 181. 

5 The junta was held October 1, unless an error has been made in dating it. 
See above, note 3. 



72 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

were assured by signs that we were their friends and would 
treat them well ; thereupon Ensign Alarcon re-embarked and 
conveyed the news to the general. The next day, that of 
the blessed San Francisco/ the general went ashore, taking 
with him the Father Commissary and Father Fray Tomas de 
Aquino. Mass was said, and the same day the general ordered 
Ensign Juan Francisco Suriano, with four arquebusiers, to go 
to a very high hill more than two leagues from the beach in 
order from it to look for the admiral's ship, which, as has been 
said, remained behind. The ensign returned at eight o'clock 
at night, having carried out his instructions, and reported that 
the admiral's ship was not in sight and that on top of the hill 
there was a great number of Indians, both men and women, 
who were afraid of us. They went inland by a wide trail, 
followed by people. The next day, which was the day after 
the feast of San Francisco, the fathers said mass on land. 
The general and many of the men confessed and received 
communion. 

To this bay was given the name of San Francisco. It has 
many fish — mackerel, white sea-bass, and many other kinds, 
of which the soldiers caught a great number with sail-rope and 
small lines and bent needles and pins. We found in the 
rancherias of the Indians some horns larger than those of bulls 
and small ones like those of goats ; they say that the large ones 
are buffalo horns, and the Indians said by signs that there were 
cattle inland. This country has a good climate and is pleasant 
to travel in. Monday, the 7th of the said month, we set sail 
in continuation of our voyage. 

Chapter 10. 

Departure from the Bay of San Francisco and Arrival at that of 
the Eleven Thousand Virgins. 2 

We set sail, as has been said, from the bay of San Fran- 
cisco on the 9th 3 of October. The next day we arrived at 
the island of San Geronimo, which is nine leagues from this 
bay. We sailed around it and took its bearings but did not 
cast anchor, as the weather did not permit it, for it was rough 
and fitful. We skirted the coast on the lookout for the island 

1 St. Francis. 2 Port San Quentin. 3 A mistake for the 7th. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 73 

of Senissas, 1 and Saturday, the 12th of the month, we discov- 
ered a very large bay 2 and an island toward the northwest. 
The general directed Ensign Sebastian Melendes and Anton 
Flores to go ahead in the frigate to take soundings of the bay, 
instructing them to give a certain sign if it were suitable for 
the captain's ship to enter and for us to follow. 

Having entered it he discovered it to be so large and good 
that we went in and cast anchor. Immediately there came 
alongside peacefully more than twenty canoes of Indian fish- 
ermen. We gave them some things, which they received with 
pleasure. They were catching fish with hooks which appeared 
to be thorns from some tree, and with lines of maguey, plaited 
and better twisted than ours. They caught fish so easily 
that within two hours they filled then canoes. On the 13th 
of the month the general, with the members of the council, 3 
decided to go ashore to reconnoitre and see the people there 
and then maimer of living, and to search for water, of which we 
had great need. The cause of this was the quarter pipes which 
we carried, for as they had been made in Acapulco of old and 
gaping and worm-eaten staves, when we thought we had water 
we were without it. This caused the men much labor, and 
detained us somewhat on land. 

T\ lien Ensign Juan de Alarcon went with twelve arque- 
busiers to do this work he found on the beach three rancherias 
of Indians, with then women and children, as quiet and free 
from excitement as if we had had dealings with them for many 
days. He found water in a lagoon a league from the beach 

1 There is a confusion of the names Cenizas and San Geronimo. In Tor- 
quemada's account they are identified, but here the name Cenizas is applied to 
an island north of Port San Quentin. See next note. 

2 Port San Quentin, lat. 30 = 24', Cabrillo's Puerto de la Posesion (Early 
Voyages, p. 184). It will be seen that the name San Quentin was applied by 
Vizcaino to a cape and bay a few leagues above the place now bearing that name. 

3 According to the Libro Diario, pp. 122-123, on the 13th (tres for trese — 
the correction is confirmed by the diary), the San Diego being at anchor in the 
bay, in lat. 32 = scant, it was decided in a junta to send Captain Melendez to ex- 
plore an estuary communicating with a lake, and Alarcon, with twenty armed men, 
to explore by land. Davidson says : "To the eastward of this peninsula [Cape 
San Quentin] there is low country, with great lagoons penetrating the land for 
several miles. The entrance to these lagoons is on the east side of the cape and 
two miles from its extremity" (Early Voyages, p. 1S4). The estuary is shown in 
the Pianos, fol. SI. 



74 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

and he returned to report it. The general thought this water- 
ing place was too far away and that they would have to work 
very hard ; and that since toward the northwest shore an en- 
trance like a river or estuary had been discovered, in order to 
find out what it was Ensign Melendes should go to reconnoitre 
it. He did so, and brought back the report that it was an 
estuary which came from a large lagoon in the interior of the 
country, and that it had anchorage in it for the captain's ship. 
We set sail immediately and within two hours cast anchor in 
it. The general, his son, and Captain Geronimo Martin went 
ashore to explore it, together with Ensign Juan Francisco Suri- 
ano, Sebastian Melendez, Martin de Aguiar Galeote, and some 
soldiers, leaving Ensign Alarcon in his place on board the 
flagship. 

We went more than four leagues along the beach in search 
of water but did not find any. We found in the woods a large 
number of hares. The chief pilot, Francisco de Bolaiios, en- 
tered the estuary above-mentioned with the boat. On taking 
soundings he found a good depth, but the current was so 
strong by reason of the high tide that it whirled the ships 
around like a millrace. The chief pilot and the pilots seeing 
this, and that our vessels were not very secure, we set sail 
from there, and the general directed that we should return to 
the place where we were before. There he went ashore with 
Ensign Alarcon, and with the men and the picks, leaving in 
his place Captain Geronimo Martin. They made wells near 
the beach, in a patch of rushes, and found so much good water 
that there was enough for a squadron. The men were happy 
at hearing this news, and the next day the general and the 
religious went ashore. Mass was said, and some Indians 
came and listened to it with great attention, as if exalted. 
They were told by signs, in answer to their questions, that it 
had to do with heaven ; and the said Indians bowed their 
heads, kissed the cross, and said the prayers and all the words 
we told them in our language. The general gave food to the 
Indians at his table, and they said by signs that there were 
many Indians inland who shot them with arrows, and that we 
should go with them. They wore in the Mexican fashion 
lilmas made of skins of animals, with a knot on the right shoul- 
der, leather sandals, and strings of cotton fibre. Their food 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 75 

was generally mascale, for there are quantities of maguey. This 
place is very pleasant, for it has a large valley surrounded by 
lagoons in which are many fish, ducks, and heron, and a grove 
with hares and deer. The climate of the land is the best in 
the world, for the night dews last until ten o'clock in the fore- 
noon. 

We gave orders to take on water, although it was difficult, 
owing to the heavy surf on the beach, which flooded the boats. 
Thursday, the 17th of the month, the general embarked at 
sunset, though with much trouble and with drenchings, the 
canoe being flooded when leaving. That night a south wind 
came up, with a heavy sea oblique to the place where we were 
— which was in a depth of six fathoms — while near us were 
the breakers. Seeing our great danger, and that if the wind 
increased it would drive us on the coast, the general consulted 
with the cosmographer, chief pilot, his assistant, and experi- 
enced seamen as to what should be done to escape the peril 
which we were in and it was agreed that in the morning we 
should sail, because at present the fog was so thick that we 
could not see each other. Accordingly at daybreak we set 
sail, leaving the anchor and cable to be raised by hand, and 
with no little effort on the part of the chief pilot, his assistant, 
and the rest of the crew we went outside, leaving on shore 
Pasqual de Alarcon, the Father Commissary, Father Fray Tomas 
de Aquino, Ensigns Melendes and Aguilar, the commander of 
the squadron, Antonio Luis, and more than forty soldiers, 
leaving them without food or powder and with only a few 
ropes. This was what gave the general the most anxiety; 
however, he remedied the situation by directing the pilot, 
Anton Flores, to go with the frigate into the estuary, and 
with the canoe into the lagoon, to aid the men. He did so 
with great care and no little work, and we at sunset found our- 
selves off the entrance of the bay. The wind went down, and 
although there was a heavy sea we cast anchor. 1 

The next day at dawn the general ordered the boatswain, 

1 On October 19, when at anchor at a large ensenada, in 32° scant, a junta 
was held. It recited that a storm had arisen from the south-southeast, and that 
it had been necessary to leave the bay to save the ship. But a number of men 
and a valuable anchor and the best cable had been left inside. It was decided 
therefore to send the capitana into a near-by inlet, while the fragata went inside 
for the men and the anchor (Libro Diario, pp. 123-124). 



76 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

Estevan Lopez, to go with ten sailors in the boat, charging 
him to make every effort to bring back the men, the cable, 
and the anchor. The anchor was what caused anxiety for it 
was the best the ship had. He did this so well that at the 
end of three hours he had removed the anchor and cable and 
part of the men who were on shore, returning immediately, 
together with the frigate. All the troops and men embarked; 
and the same day, at eight o'clock at night, when all were on 
board, there were many embraces because those who had 
come from land were with those of us on shipboard, and es- 
pecially because the ships were safe. 

The next day, Sunday, with a sea breeze we set sail in the 
continuation of our voyage. The name of the Eleven Thousand 
Virgins 1 was given to this bay. 

Chapter 11. 

Departure from the Bay of the Eleven Thousand Virgins and 
Arrival at the Port of San Diego. 

We sailed, as we have said, on Sunday, the 20th 2 of the 
said month, from the Bay of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, 
and at dawn of the following day the general ordered a sailor 
to the topmast-head, from there to look for the admiral's 
ship, which was causing much anxiety, lest some misfortune 
should have happened to her since she had separated from us. 
The sailor saw a ship about six leagues out at sea, and imme- 
diately Ensign Sebastian Melendez was ordered to go in the 
frigate to inspect her, carrying orders that if she were the ad- 
miral's ship she should be told that we were there, and that if 
she were some other ship she should wait, in order to carry a 
package of letters to the viceroy. We also approached her, 
and at two o'clock in the afternoon we were all together. We 
recognized her to be the admiral's ship, 3 which gave the great- 
est pleasure. 

After we had saluted the general asked the admiral, Father 
Fray Antonio, and Captain Peguero where they had taken 
shelter during the past storm, and whether they were in need 






1 The celebrated virgins of Cologne. 

2 Torquemada gives the date of sailing as the 24th. 



They had not seen the almiranta for twenty-eight days, and had given her 
up for lost (Early Voyages, p. 185). 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 77 

of anything. They said that they carried eight quarters of 
water, and that the late tempest obliged them to put into the 
Bay of Pescado Blanco, 1 but, not being very safe there, they 
went to Serros Island, where they remained during the storm ; 
and that on the 25th of the past month Ensign Juan de Azevedo 
Tejeda had died. This news gave great pain to the general, 
for he was a good soldier. After sailing forty leagues from the 
mainland they had discovered a large island, but the weather 
did not permit them to go to it. 2 

Seeing that the weather was so favorable the general or- 
dered us to continue our voyage, and, following along the 
coast, the next day we discovered an island some two leagues 
from the mainland ; we did not cast anchor at it, in order not 
to lose time. It was given the name of San Marcos. 3 We 
proceeded, tacking back and forth, and on the eve of the feast 
of San Simon and San Judas, the 27th of the month, we being in 
latitude 32° scant, a strong northwest wind came up, with a 
heavy sea, so that the admiral's ship and the frigate could not 
weather it unaided. Thereupon the general, with the admiral 
and the members of the council, 4 determined to put in at a bay 5 
which was nine leagues to leeward, to take shelter from the storm, 
and to provide the admiral's ship with water. This was done, 
and at sunset of the same day we cast anchor in the said bay. 

The next day Captain Peguero and Ensign Juan Francisco, 
with some soldiers, went on shore with orders to search dili- 

1 Blanco Bay, lat. 29° 4'. See p. 70, above, note 2. 

2 Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 182, following Venegas, describes the almi- 
ranta's course. 

3 San Martin Island, lat. 30° 29', Cabrillo's San Agustin. Shown on the 
Pianos, fol. 81, and described in Explicacion, vista 23. Also called Isla de las 
Cenizas and Isla de San Hilario by the almiranta (Early Voyages, p. 186). "San 
Marcos" is clearly a misprint for "San Martin." 

4 The record of the council is in Libro Diario. It states that on the 28th, 
the three vessels being together in lat. 32°, and about four leagues from land, a 
severe northwester came up. A conference was held, speaking from ship to ship, 
and it was agreed that since there was a prospect that the storm would last sev- 
eral days, and since the almiranta was greatly in need of water, they should put 
in at a bay seven leagues to the leeward. The account in Torquemada varies 
slightly from this. 

5 Bahia de San Simon y Judas, or de San Quentin. See note 2, p. 73. 
Davidson describes the Bay of San Ramon, not shown on the Pianos, between 
San Martin Island and Cabo de San Simon y Judas (Early Voyages, p. 186). 



78 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

gently for water and to treat well the Indians who were on 
the beach. When they arrived on the land they made wells 
near the sea and found plenty of good water. More than a 
hundred Indian warriors came to the place with their bows 
and arrows and with clubs for throwing. These Indians were 
very insolent, to the extent of drawing their bows and picking 
up stones to throw at us. Without taking notice of them ex- 
cept to make signs of peace, the captain and ensign embarked, 
and having come on board reported to the general what had 
happened. 

The next day Captain Peguero, Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon, 
and the chief pilot, Francisco Bolanos, went ashore to take 
water. To them the general gave orders to treat the Indians 
well and to deal with them with great care and prudence, espe- 
cially in embarking and disembarking. Arriving on land we 
found a multitude of Indians arrayed for battle, and although, 
on our part, we gave them to understand that we intended to 
do them no harm, but to get water, and although we gave them 
biscuits and other things, the Indians took no notice of what 
was given them ; on the contrary, they tried to prevent the 
taking of water and to take from us the bottles and barrels. 
This made it necessary to fire three arquebus shots at them ; 
whereupon, with the noise of the powder and someone's crying 
at the death of some of the others, they fled with great outcries ; 
but at the end of two hours a multitude of Indians returned, 
assembling from different rancherias, holding councils among 
themselves, apparently, as to what they should do, and then, 
with arms in hand, they came toward us, who to them seemed 
few, with their women and children, bows and arrows. Ensign 
Pasqual de Alarcon went out to meet them, telling them by 
signs that they must be quiet, and that they should be friends. 
Thereupon the Indians said they would do so upon condition 
that we would not fire any more arquebuses at them, which 
appeared to them many. They gave a female dog as a hostage, 
and with this they went away to their rancherias very well 
satisfied, and we took on water. At midnight, the 30th of 
the month, the general ordered us to set sail. This bay was 
named San Simon y San Judas. 1 

1 Colnett Bay, east of Cape Colnett, whose lat. is 30° 59' (Davidson, Early 
Voyages, p. 188). Called Ensenada de San Quentin by the Derrotero, p. 166. The 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 79 

Skirting along the coast with much difficulty because the 
wind was at the prow, on November 5 we discovered two small 
islands at the mouth of a large bay. 1 As we were entering 
it night came on and the wind went down, and the chief pilot 
told the general that he did not think it best to enter the bay 
that night, and so he stood out to sea, leaving it for the next 
day. At dawn we found ourselves at the mouth of the bay. 
As we were entering it a light breeze came up from the east and 
prevented our going in. The general consulted the admiral, 
captains, ensign, counsellors,' and pilots as to what should be 
done and all were of the opinion that he should go on and not 
lose this wind, which was in our favor ; we therefore continued 
our voyage. This bay was given the name of Islas de Todos 
los Santos. 2 

On the 9th of the said month we discovered two other 
islands and three farallones, in latitude 33° full, a little more 
than two leagues from the mainland, and a very large bay. 
The general ordered Ensign Melendes to go ahead in the frig- 
ate, the captain's and admiral's ships following him. Then, 
while the frigate sailed along the coast of the mainland, the 
captain's ship went up to the islands. There was so much 
kelp around them in the bottom of the sea, that, although the 
water was fourteen fathoms deep, the kelp extended more 
than six fathoms above the water. The captain's ship passed 
over it as if it were a green meadow. Some of the kelp looked 
as large as gourds and was very highly colored, with fruit re- 
sembling very large capers and with tubes like sackbuts. 
These islands were given the name San Martin. 3 The In- 

name San Quentin is now applied to Vizcaino's Bay of the Eleven Thousand 
Virgins (p. 72, note 2). On the Pianos, fol. 81, the cape is called San Quentin 
or San Simon y Judas. See Explicacion, vista 23. 

1 Todos Santos Islands, off Grajero Point, whose latitude is 31° 45'. Grajero 
Point is Cabrillo's Cabo de la Cruz (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 190) and the 
Cavo de Todos Santos of the Derrotero, p. 166. Shown on the Pianos, fol. 82 ; 
described in Explicacion, vista 24. 

2 From Torquemada it is seen that the fragata and the almiranta went in, 
but soon went back to follow the capitana (see Davidson, ibid., p. 191). 

3 Los Coronados Islands, lat. 32° 25' ; the Islas Desiertas of Cabrillo ; op- 
posite La Mesa de la Cena on the Carta. Shown in Pianos, fol. 83 ; described 
in Explicacion, vista 25. The Derrotero (p. 167) describes the Islas de San Mar- 
tin as consisting of four, the largest being nearest the land. The distance from 
the "Puerto Bueno de San Diego" is given as six leagues to the south. 



80 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

dians made so many columns of smoke on the mainland that 
at night it looked like a procession and in the daytime the sky 
was overcast. We did not land here because the coast was wild. 

The next day, Sunday, the 10th of the month, we arrived 
at a port, which must be the best to be found in all the South 
Sea, for, besides being protected on all sides and having good 
anchorage, 1 it is in latitude 333^°. It has very good wood 
and water, many fish of all kinds, many of which we caught 
with seine and hooks. On land there is much game, such as 
rabbits, hares, deer, very large quail, royal ducks, thrushes, 
and many other birds. 

On the 12th of the said month, 2 which was the day of the 
glorious San Diego, the general, admiral, religious, captains, 
ensigns, and almost all the men went on shore. A hut was 
built and mass was said in celebration of the feast of Sefior 
San Diego. When it was over the general called a council to 
consider what was to be done in this port, in order to get 
through quickly. It was decided that the admiral, with the 
chief pilot, the pilots, the masters, calkers, and seamen should 
scour the ships, giving them a good cleaning, which they 
greatly needed, and that Captain Peguero, Ensign Alarcon, 
and Ensign Martin de Aguilar should each attend to getting 
water for his ship, while Ensign Juan Francisco, and Sergeant 
Miguel de Lagar, with the carpenters, should provide wood. 

1 San Diego Bay. The end of Point Loma is near lat. 32° 40' (Davidson, 
Early Voyages, p. 192). This is Cabrillo's Puerto de San Miguel. Shown in 
Pianos, fol. 83 ; described in Explicacion, vista 25. The Derrotero calls it the 
"Good port of San Diego," and says: "The tides are like those at Sanlucar, 
Spain, because the port within is large and good, sheltered on all sides. No sea 
enters it. There is wood, and water, though salty, and to get it wells were dug 
to the east of the entry near the beach. Likewise, at a stone's throw there are 
plentiful fish, both of net and line. There are numerous Indians, with bows 
and arrows, good people desirous of dealing with the Spaniards. This port is in 
lat. 33M°" (p. 167). 

2 On the 11th, the San Diego being at anchor in the bay in 34° scant, Viz- 
caino called a junta de mar y guerra, and stated that the harbor seemed good 
and in a latitude suitable for a port for the Philippine vessels, and for other pur- 
poses of his Majesty. It was decided to send Bolafios in the Tres Reyes to sound 
the bay and its inlets and rivers, and to find a place for cleaning the snail-covered 
vessels, and for getting wood, water, and fish (Libro Diario, pp. 125-126). It 
would appear that the 12th of the diary should be the 11th. The feast of San 
Diego was November 13. 






1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 81 

When this had all been agreed upon, a hundred Indians 
appeared on a hill with bows and arrows and with many 
feathers on their heads, yelling noisily at us. The general or- 
dered Ensign Juan Francisco to go to them with four arque- 
busiers, Father Fray Antonio following him in order to win 
their friendship. The ensign was instructed that if the In- 
dians fled he should let them go, but that if they waited he 
should regale them. The Indians waited, albeit with some 
fear. The ensign and soldiers returned, and the general, his 
son, and the admiral went toward the Indians. The Indians 
seeing this, two men and two women came down from a hill. 
They having reached the general, and the Indian women 
weeping, he cajoled and embraced them, giving them some 
things. Reassuring the others by signs, they descended peace- 
fully, whereupon they were given presents. The net was cast 
and fish were given them. Whereupon the Indians became 
more confident and went to their rancherias and we to our 
ships to attend to our affairs. 

Friday, the 15th of the month, the general went aboard 
the frigate, taking with him his son, Father Fray Antonio, the 
chief pilot, and fifteen arquebusiers, to go and take the sound- 
ings of a large bay which entered the land. He did not take 
the cosmographer with him, as he was ill and occupied with 
the papers of the voyage. That night, rowing with the flood 
tide, he got under way and at dawn he was six leagues within 
the bay, which he found to be the best, large enough for all 
kinds of vessels, more secure than at the anchorage, and better 
for careening the ships, for they could be placed high and dry 
during the flood tide and taken down at the ebb tide, even if 
they were of a thousand tons. 

I do not place in this report the sailing directions, descrip- 
tions of the land, or soundings, because the cosmographer 
and pilots are keeping an itinerary in conformity with the 
art of navigation. 

In this bay the general, with his men, went ashore. After 
they had gone more than three leagues along it a number of 
Indians appeared with their bows and arrows, and although 
signs of peace were made to them, they did not dare to ap- 
proach, excepting a very old Indian woman who appeared to 
be more than one hundred and fifty years old and who ap- 



82 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

proached weeping. The general cajoled her and gave her some 
beads and something to eat. This Indian woman, from extreme 
age, had wrinkles on her belly which looked like a blacksmith's 
bellows, and the navel protruded bigger than a gourd. Seeing 
this kind treatment the Indians came peaceably and took us 
to their rancherias, where they were gathering their crops and 
where they had made their paresos of seeds ]ike flax. They 
had pots in which they cooked their food, and the women were 
dressed in skins of animals. The general would not allow any 
soldier to enter their rancherias ; and, it being already late, 
he returned to the frigate, many Indians accompanying him 
to the beach. Saturday night he reached the captain's ship, 
which was ready; wood, water, and fish were brought on 
board, and on Wednesday, the 20th of the said month, we set 
sail. I do not state, lest I should be tiresome, how many times 
the Indians came to our camps with skins of martens and 
other things. Until the next day, when we set sail, they re- 
mained on the beach shouting. This port was given the name 
of San Diego. 

Chapter 12. 

Departure from the Port of San Diego and Arrival at the Island 
of Santa Catalina. 

We left the port of San Diego, as has been said, on a 
Wednesday, the 20th of the said month, 1 and the same day the 
general ordered Ensign Sebastian Melendes to go ahead with 
the frigate to examine a bay which was to windward some four 
leagues, 2 and directed that the pilot should sound it, map it, 

1 On November 19 a junta was held to draw up sailing orders. It was 
agreed that in case of any vessel's being driven by head-winds before finding an- 
other port, it was to return to the Bay of San Diego ; if driven by a southwest 
wind it was to run with it to 38° or a little above, where there was said to be an 
island, there to wait eight days, making signals ; at the end of that time, if still 
alone, it should continue to Cape Mendocino (Libro Diario, pp. 126-127). 

2 Apparently False Bay, just north of San Diego Bay, shown as "Ensenada 
de baxa entrada." It is described by the Derrotero, pp. 167-168, as being a 
large bay two leagues above the entry of San Diego Bay. It is added that it is 
shallow at the entry but deep inside, and that it has a great grove of trees on the 
east shore. From the bay to the Punta de la Arboleda the distance is given as 
ten leagues ; from here to the Ysla y Ensenada de Buena Gente, fifteen leagues ; 
thence to the Ysla de Samta Catalina, eight leagues, southwest. According to 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 83 

and find out what was there. He did so, and the next day 
ordered the return to the captain's ship. He reported to the 
general that he had entered the said bay, that it was a good 
port, although it had at its entrance a bar of little more than 
two fathoms depth, and that there was a very large grove at 
an estuary which extended into the land, and many Indians: 
and that he had not gone ashore. Thereupon we continued 
our voyage, skirting along the coast until the 24th of the 
month, which was the eve of the feast of the glorious Samta 
Catalina, 1 when we discovered three large islands. 2 We ap- 
proached them with difficulty because of a head-wind, and 
arrived at the middle one, which is more than twenty-five 
leagues around. 

On the 27th of the month, and before casting anchor in a 
very good cove 3 which was found, a multitude of Indians 
came out in canoes of cedar and pine, made of planks very well 
joined and calked, each one with eight oars and with fourteen 
or fifteen Indians, who looked like galley-slaves. They came 
alongside without the least fear and came on board our ships, 
mooring their own. They showed great pleasure at seeing us, 
telling us by signs that we must land, and guiding us like 
pilots to the anchorage. The general received them kindly 
and gave them some presents, especially to the boys. We 
anchored, and the admiral, Ensign Alarcon, Father Fray An- 
tonio, and Captain Peguero, with some soldiers, went ashore. 
Many Indians were on the beach, and the women treated us 
to roasted sardines and a small fruit like sweet potatoes. 4 

this, Punta de Arboleda would be about at modern Encinitas, although in the 
Pianos, fol. 84, Punta de Arboleda is shown about half-way from San Diego Bay 
to San Pedro Bay. Torquemada mentions a bay a few leagues before reaching 
Santa Catalina Island, which Davidson identifies with San Pedro Bay (Davidson, 
Early Voyages, pp. 194-195), but it is clear that the one entered by Melendez on 
the 21st was not so far north. I judge, therefore, that Davidson is in error in 
his identification. 

1 St. Catherine. 

2 The three shown on the Pianos are the Santa Catalina, the Santa Barbara, 
and the San Nicolas, but we know that the San Clemente was also described. 

3 On Santa Catalina Island : the San Salvador of Cabrillo. 

4 Santa Catalina Island is shown on the Pianos, fol. 84. From this map, 
together with the diary and the Derrotero, it is clear that the first anchorage 
was near the middle of the eastern coast. The port near the pueblo is called 
Puerto de Santa Catalina. The Derrotero (p. 168) describes the island. 



84 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

Fresh water was found, although a long distance from the 
beach. 

The next day the general and the Father Commissary went 
ashore, a hut was built, and mass was said. More than one 
hundred and fifty Indian men and women were present, and 
they marvelled not a little at seeing the altar and the image 
of our Lord Jesus crucified, and listened attentively to the 
saying of mass, asking by signs what it was about. They 
were told that it was about heaven, whereat they marvelled 
more. When the divine service was ended the general went 
to their houses, where the women took him by the hand and 
led him inside, giving him some of the food which they had 
given before. He brought to the ship six Indian girls from 
eight to ten years old, whom their mothers willingly gave him, 
and he clothed them with chemises, petticoats, and necklaces, 
and sent them ashore. The rest of the women, seeing this, 
came with their daughters in canoes, asking for gifts. The 
result was that no one returned empty-handed. The people 
go dressed in seal skins, the women especially covering their 
loins, and their faces show them to be modest ; but the men 
are thieves, for anything they saw unguarded they took. 
They are a people given to trade and traffic and are fond of 
barter, for in return for old clothes they would give the soldiers 
skins, shells, nets, thread, and very well twisted ropes, these 
in great quantities and resembling linen. They have dogs 
like those in Castile. 

Thursday, the 28th of the said month, there was an eclipse 
of the moon, which commenced at a quarter past ten at night 
and lasted until twelve o'clock, being entirely over at one 
o'clock ; the eclipse commenced on the eastern edge. 

On the night of the eve of San Andres, the 29th of the said 
month, we set sail, 1 for the Indians had told us by signs that 
farther along on this same island they had their houses and 
there was food. On the day of San Andres, at four o'clock 

1 On November 29, the San Diego being at anchor at Santa Catalina Island 
in 34^°, a, junta was held to consider circumnavigating the island and exploring 
the San Andres (San Clemente). It was decided not to spend the time, but to 
go ahead, leaving these explorations for the return, since the weather was good, 
the men were becoming ill, and supplies becoming short (Libro Diario, pp. 127- 
128). The general therefore ordered the pilots to set sail as soon as possible. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 85 

in the afternoon, we arrived at the place which the Indians 
had designated, they piloting us in their canoes into the port, 1 
which is all that could be desired as to convenience and secu- 
rity. On the beach there was a pueblo and more than three 
hundred Indians, men, women and children. The general 
and Ensign Alarcon went ashore and inspected it. The next 
day the general and many of the rest of us went ashore. 
The Indian men and women embraced him and took him to 
their houses. These women have good features. The gen- 
eral gave them beads and regaled them, and they gave him 
prickly pears and a grain like the gofio of the Canary Islands, 
in some willow baskets very well made, and water in vessels 
resembling flasks, which were like rattan inside and very thickly 
varnished outside. They had acorns and some very large 
skins, apparently of bears, with heavy fur, which they used for 
blankets. 

The general went inland to see the opposite coast. He 
found on the way a level prairie, very well cleared, where the 
Indians were assembled to worship an idol which was there. 2 
It resembled a demon, having two horns, no head, a dog at its 
feet, and many children painted all around it. The Indians 
told the general not to go near it, but he approached it and 
saw the whole thing, and made a cross, and placed the name 
of Jesus on the head of the demon, telling the Indians that 
that was good, and from heaven, but that the idol was the 
devil. At this the Indians marvelled, and they will readily 
renounce it and receive our Holy Faith, for apparently they 
have good intellects and are friendly and desirous of our 
friendship. The general returned to the pueblo, and an In- 
dian woman brought him two pieces of figured China silk, in 
fragments, telling him that they had got them from people 
like ourselves, who had negroes ; that they had come on the 
ship which was driven by a strong wind to the coast and 
wrecked, and that it was farther on. The general endeavored 
to take two or three Indians with him, that they might tell 
him where the ship had been lost, promising to give them 

1 Puerto de Santa Catalina, mentioned above. 

2 On Vizcaino's chart in Burney a small dot is placed on Santa Catalina 
Island, to represent, Davidson thinks, the "so-called Temple of the Sun" (Burney, 
Voyages, II., map opp. p. 256; Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 196). 



86 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

clothes. The Indians consented and went with him to the 
captain's ship, but as we were weighing anchor preparatory to 
leaving the Indians said they wished to go ahead in their canoe, 
and that they did not wish to go aboard the ship, fearing that 
we would abduct them, and the general, in order not to excite 
them, said: "Very well/' 

We set sail, and on leaving the port a head-wind struck 
us, which prevented our going where the Indians indicated; 
therefore we stood out to sea and the Indians returned to their 
pueblo. This attempt was given up because we did not have 
the launch, which had gone to reconnoitre another island, 1 
apparently belonging to the mainland, and because the ad- 
miral's ship was absent, as it could not make the said port, 
and because the fog was so very dense that we could not see 
each other, and also because there seemed to be many islands, 
keys, and shoals, among which, in such weather, the pilots 
did not dare take the flagship ; and so we continued our voyage. 

The next day the admiral's ship and frigate came up with 
us, for perhaps God willed it that we should be united. On 
being asked what he had found on the island, Ensign Melendez 
said that there were many Indians, who had told him by signs 
that upon it there were men who were bearded and clothed 
like ourselves. Thinking them to be Spaniards, he sent them 
a note, and eight Indians came to him in a canoe, bearded and 
clothed in skins of animals, but they could learn nothing more. 
Accordingly the general ordered that we should continue our 
voyage without further delay, because our men were all becom- 
ing ill, leaving for the return any efforts to verify what the 
Indians of the island of Samta Catalina had told us by signs, 
for, as we could not understand their language, all was con- 
fusion and there was little certainty as to what they said. 

1 Apparently the island in San Pedro Bay called "Isla vaja de buena gente." 
This may have been El Moro, or Dead Man's Island. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 87 



Chapter 13. 

The Departure from the Island of Santa Catalina and the Arrival 
at the Port of Monterrey. 

We left this said island of Sancta Catalina and port of San 
Andres on Sunday, 1 December 1st. On this day, as has been 
stated, we met the admiral's ship and the frigate, and, after 
the general had conferred with the admiral and the members 
of the council as to what should be done, it was agreed that 
we should continue our voyage, since our men were becoming 
ill, the cold increasing, and winter coming on, and since there 
were neither comforts nor medicines with which to cure the 
sick, and, if we should delay, the voyage could not be com- 
pleted. 2 

So we went on skirting the coast, and on Monday, the 2d 
of the said month, we sighted two other large islands. Pass- 
ing between the first and the mainland, 3 a canoe came out to 
us with two Indian fishermen, who had a great quantity of 
fish, rowing so swiftly that they seemed to fly. They came 
alongside without saying a word to us and went twice around 
us with so great speed that it seemed impossible ; this finished, 
they came aft, bowing their heads in the way of courtesy. 
The general ordered that they be given a cloth, with bread. 
They received it, and gave in return the fish they had, without 
any pay, and this done they said by signs that they wished to 
go. After they had gone five Indians came in another canoe, 
so well constructed and built that since Noah's Ark a finer and 

1 Evidently San Pedro Bay, called on the charts Ensenada de San Andres. 
Santa Monica Bay is shown just above it as "Gran Ensenada.'' Torquemada 
says, "After taking a survey of several parts of this island, the squadron left it 
on the third of December, 1602." Quoted in Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 197. 
This does not agree with the official diary. 

2 The reference seems to be to the council recorded in the Libro Diario as 
of November 29. See above, p. 84, note 1. 

3 They were now in the Santa Barbara channel. Vizcaino's chart shows 
Isla de Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Island) and Isla de San Nicolas, but he 
does not mention them in any of the narratives. Davidson states that Vizcaino 
is the first to call attention to the parallelism of these islands with the continental 
shore (Early Voyages, p. 200). See the Pianos, fols. 84, 85, 86, and Explication, 
vistas 26, 27, 28. 



88 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

lighter vessel with timbers better made has not been seen. 
Four men rowed, with an old man in the centre, [singing] 1 as 
in a mitote of the Indians of New Spain, and the others re- 
sponding to him. Before coming alongside they stopped and 
he saluted us three times, making many ceremonious gestures 
with his head and body, and ordering the Indians to row around. 
This was done so swiftly that in a moment they went around 
us twice and immediately came aft. Only the old man spoke, 
he saying by signs that we must go to his land, where they 
would give us much food and water, for there was a river. 
He gave us a flask of it which he had brought, and a willow 
basket of food, a sort of porridge made of acorn meal. This 
Indian made himself so well understood by signs that he lacked 
nothing but ability to speak our language. He came to say 
that as a pledge of the truth of what he said one of us should 
get into his canoe and go to his land, and that he would re- 
main on board ship with us as a hostage. The general, in 
order to test the Indian's good faith, ordered a soldier to get 
into the canoe, and at once the Indian came aboard our ship 
with great satisfaction, telling the others who were in the 
canoe to go ashore and prepare food for all of us. 

Meanwhile, as the sun was already setting, the admiral's 
ship arrived near us, whereupon the general called a council 2 
of the admiral, ensign, and pilots, to consider what should be 
done, since for our voyage the wind was now behind us, which 
had not been the case since we had left Acapulco. It was agreed 
that the Indians should depart, being given to understand by 
signs that next day we would go to their land ; but such were 
the efforts of this Indian to get us to go to it that as a greater 
inducement he said he would give to each one of us ten women 
to sleep with. This Indian was so intelligent that he appeared 
to be not a barbarian but a person of great understanding. 
We showed him lead, tin, and plates of silver. He sounded 
them with his finger and said that the silver was good but the 
others not. 

This Indian left, and the same evening the northwest wind 

1 There is evidently some omission in the print. At this point Torquemada 
has "all singing in their language as the Indians of New Spain sing in the mitote" 
(Monarchia Indiana, I. 713). 

2 This council is not recorded in the Libro Diario. 



1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 89 

freshened so well for us that we sailed more than fifteen leagues, 
but between islands and with no little anxiety and danger, 
since we knew not where we were going; and next morning 
we found ourselves hemmed in between islands and mainland. 
Tacking back and forward on the 4th of the said month, we 
were struck by a heavy northwester, with a high sea, and 
were obliged to take off the bonnets and run with lower sails, 
so that we became separated from each other. 

At dawn the captain's ship was near an island, in the shel- 
ter of which it was calm. A canoe came out with two Indians 
and a small boy, their eyes being painted with antimony. 
They asked us to go to their land ; however, there was such a 
heavy sea and the island presented so many shoals that we 
did not dare go to it, but veered out to sea, where we found 
the frigate. We made the usual signals to it and it came to 
us. When it came alongside it was agreed that we should go 
ahead of the frigate toward the island to see if there was any 
protection in which to take shelter from the wind. We did 
so, and on our going there the admiral's ship appeared and 
followed us. The launch went in between this island and 
another, we following it; but it appeared to the chief pilot 
and pilots that it was not best to follow it, for many shoals 
and reefs were seen and the night was coming on, with a high 
sea and wind, and that we should run the risk of being lost. 
Therefore the general gave orders to go outside, the frigate, 
which had already gone between the two islands mentioned, 
remaining. 

The next day the wind went down and we skirted the 
coast, although with great anxiety lest some accident had be- 
fallen the frigate, which remained behind and did not appear. 
We continued our voyage, with a favorable wind, until the 
12th of the said month, eve of the feast of Santa Lugia, 1 
when the frigate overtook us. This gave great pleasure, 

1 As Davidson remarks, it is strange that Vizcaino does not mention Point 
Concepeion in his narrative, though he shows it on his chart (Early Voyages, 
p. 204). The Derrotero, however, does mention it, stating that "La Punta de 
la Limpia Concession is in 353^° long, and this point is low, with timber. It 
forms two coasts ; on that toward the east, ten leagues from said point, on the 
seashore, is a very large pueblo of more than two hundred houses" (Derrotero, 
p. 169). 



90 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

especially because the ensign and the pilot said that they 
had gone into the interior of the said island and that there 
was a pueblo 1 there with more than two hundred large houses, 
in each one of which lived more than forty Indians ; and that 
in the midst of it two poles were nailed together, with one 
above, like a gallows. More than twenty canoes came along- 
side the frigate, and because they were all alone they dared 
not stay there. In this place there are great numbers of 
Indians, and the mainland has signs of being thickly popu- 
lated. It is fertile, for it has pine groves and oaks, and a fine 
climate, for although it gets cold it is not so cold as to cause 
discomfort. 2 

The day of Santa Lugia, 3 at four o'clock in the morning, 
a southeast wind struck us, the first we had had during the 
voyage. It lasted until sunset the next day, when we reached 
a place in 37° full. 4 The general ordered Ensign Melendez 
to go ahead to explore a large bay and see if there were any 
port, for this country was the most important of the explora- 
tion for the purposes of his Majesty. 

This was done, and as the bay was found to be large and 
as night was coming on, we went outside. The said ensign 
entered the bay, and the next day, the 16th of the month, the 
frigate came alongside and the pilot told the general that he 
had found a good port, a sketch of which he had brought back. 
The general held a council 5 to consider what should be done 

1 This pueblo is shown on the Pianos, fol. 86. San Miguel Island (Cabri- 
llo's Isla de la Posesion) is given on Vizcaino's chart as Isla de Baxos. 

2 The reference seems to be to the coast on the Canal de Santa Barbara. 

3 St. Lucy's Day, December 13. The coast between Point Conception and 
the Bay of Monterey is described in the Derrotero, p. 169. 

4 Monterey harbor, lat. 36° 31', now discovered for the first time. It was 
so named in honor of the ruling viceroy, Gaspar de Zufiiga y Acevedo, Conde de 
Monterey. Shown on Pianos, fol. 88 ; described in Explication, vista 29 ; Der- 
rotero, p. 169. Davidson says that Vizcaino applied the name only to the south- 
east angle of the bay, where the city of Monterey now is (Early Voyages, p. 214). 
The Pianos, fol. 88, show Puerto de Monterrey swinging round to a headland 
about opposite Punta de Pinos, and then another large bight curving clear around 
to Punta de Ano Nuevo, and not showing the convex curve of the coast from 
Santa Cruz nearly to Point Ano Nuevo. 

6 The Libro Diario records the council of December 16. The day before, 
Melendez and Flores had been sent in the fragata to examine the Bay of Mon- 
terey ; returning, Flores had boarded the San Diego bearing a map of the bay. 






1602] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 91 

and it was agreed that they should put in at the said port, 
provide themselves with water, and restore the men and the 
sick, of whom there were many. We arrived this day at seven 
o'clock in the evening and cast anchor. 

Chapter 14. 

The Arrival at the Port of Monterey, and the Decision made there 
to despatch the Admiral's Ship with Reports to New Spain ; 
and to continue with the Captain's Ship and the Frigate to 
Cape Mendocino. 

We arrived, as has been said, at this port of Monterey, 
on the 16th of the said month of December, at seven o'clock 
in the evening. The next day the general ordered Ensign 
Alarcon to go ashore, with orders to make a hut where mass 
could be said and to see if there was water, and what the 
country was like. He found that there was fresh water, and a 
great oak 1 near the shore, where he made the hut and arbor 2 
to say mass. The general, commissary, admiral, captains, 
ensign, and the rest of the men landed at once ; and mass hav- 
ing been said and the day having cleared, there having been 
much fog, we found ourselves to be in the best port that could 
be desired, for besides being sheltered from all the winds, it 
has many pines for masts and yards, and live oaks and white 
oaks, and water in great quantity, all near the shore. 3 The 
land is fertile, with a climate and soil like those of Castile; 
there is much wild game, such as harts, like young bulls, deer, 
buffalo, very large bears, rabbits, hares, and many other animals 

Since it seemed promising as a port for the Philippine ships, and as it appeared 
to have fresh water, for lack of which the men were ill, it was decided to go in, 
explore, and seek water. There was one dissenting voice, that of Alarcon. He 
advised going on to the bay where Cermeno had been wrecked (Drake's Bay) 
and where Bolanos said there was water, he having been with Cermeno. Vizcaino 
yielded to the majority, and gave orders to enter Monterey Bay (Libro Diario, 
pp. 128-129). 

1 Until recently an oak stood in Monterey which, according to tradition, 
was the tree under which mass was said in 1602. The spot is now marked by a 
cross. 

2 Recado for ramada. 

3 The bay is well protected from southeast storms, but little from those 
from the northwest. Davidson states that Vizcaino greatly overpraised the 
harbor, and thereby misled Costanso, later (Early Voyages, p. 212). 



92 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

and many game birds, such as geese, partridges, quail, crane, 
ducks, vultures, and many other kinds of birds which I will 
not mention lest it be wearisome. The land is thickly popu- 
lated with numberless Indians, of whom a great many came 
several times to our camp. They appeared to be a gentle 
and peaceable people. They said by signs that inland there 
are many settlements. The food which these Indians most 
commonly eat, besides fish and crustaceans, consists of acorns 
and another nut larger than a chestnut. This is what we 
were able to understand from them. 

In view of the fact that we had so many sick, that the 
pilot of the admiral's ship and his assistant were very ill, that 
there was a shortage of sailors for going forward, and that the 
supplies were becoming exhausted because of the length of 
time we had spent in coming, it seemed to the general impossi- 
ble to complete the exploration this time without a new sup- 
ply of men and provisions ; and he therefore at once called a 
conference of the admiral and the members of the council * 
to consider what should be done for the best service of his 
Majesty. It was decided that the admiral's ship should re- 
turn as a messenger to the viceroy of New Spain with a copy 
of the records of the discoveries as far as this place, carry back 
those who were the most ill, ask for further supplies of men 
and provisions in order to complete at this time the explora- 
tion of the remainder of the coast and of the entrance to the 
Californias, designating the time and place to which they 
were to be sent ; and other things which were treated of in 
the council and were written to the said senor viceroy ; and 

1 The council was held on December 18. In it Vizcaino revealed his secret 
orders to explore on his way back, if there was time, the Gulf of California to 37°, 
two degrees more or less, and to report on the pearl-fisheries and inhabitants. 
This conference was the most solemn of all held, and each member gave his opin- 
ion separately. It was shown that already eight months had passed, and provi- 
sions had been brought for only eleven. Several men had died. Pilot Juan Pascual 
and his assistant were sick in bed, and in all forty men were ill. This number 
included some of the helmsmen, who were unable to steer because they were 
paralyzed. The sick were without suitable medicine and food. The Santo 
Tomds was unseaworthy. Corban was continued in command of the almirante, 
but since Pilot Juan Pascual was ill, Manuel Sessar Cordero was sent to serve as 
pilot. The capitana and fragata were to await the new orders on the return at 
Puerto de la Paz (Libro Diario, p. 144). 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 93 

that we, with the captain's ship and frigate, should go on to 
Cape Mendogino, and farther if the weather should permit. 

The foregoing having been agreed upon it was at once 
put into execution. The admiral's ship was immediately sup- 
plied with wood and water ; those who were the most ill went 
aboard her ; and the journals, maps, relations, and itineraries 
were copied, which was no little work, because of the ill health 
of the cosmographer and the scrivener, but it was accomplished 
with all possible diligence, as was also the taking on of wood 
and water, because the men were very ill. The admiral's 
ship left on Sunday night at 8 o'clock, the 29th of the said 
month, with orders to make haste. 

Chapter 15. 

The Departure from the Port of Monterey ; What occurred after 
the Admiral's Ship had been despatched with Messages; 
and the Arrival at Cape Mendocino, 

Sunday, the 29th of the said month, the admiral's ship set 
out with messages, carrying those most ill, and provided with 
water, wood, and what was necessary to reach the port of 
Acapulco, the admiral carrying instructions not to put in at 
any port until he reached that of Acapulco ; he was especially 
charged with the care of the sick, and with other things which 
were provided in the said instructions. We ourselves re- 
mained, making the preparations necessary for our voyage to 
Cape Mendocino. The men worked under great difficulties in 
taking on wood and water because of the extreme cold, which 
was so intense that Wednesday, New Year's Day of 1603, 
dawned with all the mountains covered with snow and re- 
sembling the volcano of Mexico, 1 and that the hole from 
which we were taking water was frozen over more than a 
palm in thickness, and the bottles, which had been left full 
over night, were all frozen so that even when turned upside- 
down not a drop ran out. So urgent was our situation that 
necessity compelled us all to act with energy, especially the 
general, who aided in carrying the bottles and in the other 
tasks, with the good support of Ensign Alarcon and Captain 

1 Popocatepetl, popularly called in the neighborhood "El Vulcan " — The 
Volcano. 



94 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

Peguero, who, although ill, aided, while the pilots spared no 
efforts to forward our preparation, so that by Friday night, 
the 3d of the said month, 1 we were all ready. 

This da}^ the general, with the commissary and ten arque- 
busiers, went inland, toward the southeast, having heard of a 
copious stream that ran into the sea and of another good head- 
land, and in order better to see the lay of the land and its 
people and animals. He proceeded some three leagues when 
he discovered another good port, into which entered a copi- 
ous river 2 descending from some high, snow^-covered moun- 
tains with large pines, white and black poplars, and willows. 
It had an extended river bottom, and in it were many cattle 
as large as cows although apparently they were harts, and yet 
their pelts were different, for their wool dragged on the ground, 
and each horn was more than three yards long. 3 An effort 
was made to kill some of them but they did not wait long 
enough. No people were found because, on account of the 
great cold, they were living in the interior. He sent Ensign 
Juan Francisco with four soldiers to a rancheria to see what 
was there ; he found it to be depopulated, and returned. 

The general and all the men having reached the flagship, 
at nightfall we raised all but one anchor, and at midnight, 
aided by the land breeze, we set sail. 4 On leaving the harbor 
a northeast wind came up favorably for our voyage, so that 
at dawn we were more than ten leagues farther on and, al- 
though the wind went down, aided by the off-shore breeze we 
reached the bay 5 where was lost the ship San Agustin, of 
which Sebastian Melendez Rodriguez was pilot; however, 
although the chief pilot recognized it, we did not stop lest we 

1 January, 1603. 

2 Carmel River, which empties into Carmel Bay a few miles to the south 
of Monterey Bay, in lat. 36° 34' (Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 212). It was given 
this name by the Vizcaino expedition. 

3 Evidently the elk. 

4 January 3, 1603. Cf. Father Ascension's statement (p. 120, below). 

6 Drake's Bay, lat. 38°, where Sebastian Melendez Rodriguez Cermeiio 
was wrecked in 1595. Davidson states that Vizcaino makes no reference to 
Point Ano Xuevo (Early Voyages, p. 214). It is indeed not on the chart as repro- 
duced by Burney, but it is on the Carta and on Pianos, fol. 88, which is reproduced 
in Richman, California under Spain and Mexico, opp. p. 23. On this Piano the 
island southeast of Los Frayles is called Isleo Hendido. El Morro de los Reyes is 
of course Point Reyes, and Puerto de Don Gaspar is Reyes Bay, or Drake's Bay. 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 95 

should not have another favorable wind; 1 but the next day 
an exceedingly strong northwest wind struck us, which obliged 
us to seek shelter in it. We cast anchor, although outside, 
with the intention of going ashore next day, 2 but at daybreak 
the offshore wind struck us and obliged us to set sail. As we 
were sailing, two canoes, with an Indian in each, came out from 
the bay calling to us to come to the port, and saying they were 
awaiting us. 3 They dared not come to the ship, and conse- 
quently we left them, in order not to lose time. For it was 
not well to lose any, since the men were very ill, the cold was 
increasing, and the frigate did not appear, because in the re- 
cent northwest wind it had parted company. 

Aided by favoring land breezes, we skirted the coast until 
the 12th of the said month, when the moon was in conjunction, 
and we found ourselves to be off Cape Mendogino, 4 so greatly 
desired by all, for it was reached with so much toil and diffi- 
culty. And in order that our labors should be more highly 
esteemed, God willed that the new moon of January should be- 
gin with so furious a south wind, together with so much rain and 
fog, as to throw us into great doubt whether to go forward or to 
turn back, for it was as dark in the daytime as at night. The 
seas were very high, so that we could neither run nor lie by at 
sea. All the men had fallen sick, so that there were only two 
sailors who could climb to the maintopsail. 

In view of the great straits and the doubt which we were in, 

1 It will be seen from the note next below that according to the diary the 
wind shifted on the 8th and not on the 7th. 

2 From the Libro Diario we learn that on January 9, the San Diego being 
in 39°, a council was held. According to the record, at sunset of the day before 
a strong southwester arose ; all night they had sailed with the lower sails, trying 
without avail to make headway, because the men were too ill to manage the 
vessel. It was decided, therefore, to take refuge in a port two leagues to the 
leeward, sheltered from the north, where Bolanos said he had been with Cer- 
meno in the San Agustin (Libro Diario, pp. 139-140). 

3 The text is corrupted here. 

4 Lat. 40° 27'. The Derrotero, p. 170, describes Cape Mendogino, and 
locates it in latitude 413^°, or 53' too far north. See Pianos, fol. 91 ; Explicacion, 
vistas 32, 33. The bay and river just below Cape Mendogino were evidently 
inserted in the Carta, on Pianos, fol. 91, and in the diary, on the basis of the re- 
ports of the voyage of the Tres Reyes and not of the San Diego, as will appear 
later on. The Derrotero says nothing about them in the original description 
of the Cape Mendocino region. See Derrotero, p. 170. 



96 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

the general called a council 1 of the captains, the pilots, and 
their assistants to consider what should be done for the best 
interest of his Majesty. It was decided that it would not be 
best to go forward as there were no men for it, it was very cold, 
the rains were increasing and winter coming on all at once, and 
if we were to go on we should all perish. With this decision, the 
general ordered that when the weather should permit we should 
return to Cape San Lucas. 

The next day the wind calmed and the sun shone, so that 
the pilots were able to take the latitude, 2 and they found them- 
selves to be in forty-one degrees. Although it had been decided 
that we should turn back, a wind storm came up from the south- 
east which made us very cold. Worse than this, on the day of 
San Anton, the 17th of the said month, at eight o'clock at 
night, when lying by at sea, the ship was struck by two seas 
which made it pitch so much that it was thought the keel was 
standing on end, and that it was even sinking. The pitching 
was so violent that it threw both sick and well from their beds 
and the general from his. He struck upon some boxes and 
broke his ribs with the heavy blow. 

This trouble continued until the 20th of the said month, the 
day of San Sebastian, when the storm abated and we found our- 
selves in 42 degrees, 3 for the currents and seas were carrying us 

1 This was on the 13th, the San Diego being in 4134°. Vizcaino stated that 
he had orders to reach Cape Mendocino, in 41°, and, in case the weather would 
permit without too great risk, to go as far as Cape Blanco, in 44° ; arrived there, 
if the coast did not turn east, to follow it one hundred leagues, but no further. 
It was decided, however, that it was perilous to continue, since there were not 
two men who could ascend to the maintopsail, winter was coming on, and navi- 
gation of the coast dangerous. Orders were given, therefore, to return to Puerto 
de la Paz, there to await new orders from the viceroy. Nothing was said of the 
Tres Reyes in the council (Libro Diario, pp. 140-142). No other council is re- 
corded till January 28, at Isla de Santa Catalina. 

2 Davidson concludes that the lat. 41° was based on mere "report," but we 
learn here that an observation was actually made (Davidson, Early Voyages, 
p. 230). 

3 Of the voyage of the San Diego after leaving Puerto de los Reyes, Torque- 
mada says that it sailed slowly northwest in search of the Tres Reyes, and on Sun- 
day, the 12th, sighted some high mountains (Davidson says King's Peak), and 
fourteen leagues farther, Cape Mendocino, in lat. 41°. Next day, the 13th, a 
heavy southeast wind arose, and they lay to till the 19th, by which time they 
had drifted to 42°, near Cavo Blanco de San Sebastian (Monarchia Indiana, I. 
718; Davidson, Early Voyages, pp. 231-233). 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 97 

rapidly to the Strait of Anian. This day we sighted land both 
on the cape and beyond, covered with great pine forests. There 
was mnch snow covering the mountains, making them look like 
volcanoes, and reaching down to the sea. 

On the 21st of the month God sent us a light northwest 
wind, which had been so unseasonable for us in going but was 
so desirable for the return, and which brought us out of this 
trouble. We skirted along the coast, inspecting again what we 
had seen, as far as this place. 

Chapter 16. 

Return from Cape Mendocino, the Arrival at the Islands of 
Mzsatlan, and what occurred on the Return. 

We returned, as has been said, from Cape Mendocino, and 
from another beyond to which was given the name San Sebas- 
tian. ::: the 2 1st oi the month of January. The northwest 
wind aiding us. we came along skirting the coast, carefully re- 
viewing it all. and on the 25th of the said month we had come as 
Ear as the port of Monterrey, where the Indians signalled us 
with smoke. We did not enter it because the state of our health 
was so bad and the sick were clamoring, although there was 
neither assistance nor medicines nor food to give them except 
rotten jerked beef, gruel, biscuits, and beans and chick-peas 
spoiled by weevils. The mouths of all were sore, and their gums 
were swollen larger than their teeth, so that they could hardly 
drink water, and the ship seemed more like a hospital than a 
ship of an armada. Affairs were in such a condition that any- 
one who had ever in his life been at the helm steered, climbed to 
the maintopsail, and did the other tasks, and all who could 
walk assisted at the hearth, making gruel and porridge for the 
sick. Above all, we were greatly distressed because the frigate, 
the 7/5 Reyes, did not appear, for we feared that she had been 
lost in the past storm ; but our need was so great, as has been 
said, that v;e could not wait for her, although it was our inten- 
tion to do so at the island of Santa Catalina, 1 where we arrived 

1 From a, junta held January 28, the San Diego being off Santa Catalina Island 
in lat. 34°. it is learned that on the return several days were spent re-exploring 
inlets not completely examined on the way up, and that Captain Geronimo, 
Bolanos. and his assistant pilot, had recommended putting in at Santa Catalina 
Island to await the Tret Reyes. But since the men were too ill to get wood and 



98 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

the 29th of the said month. Although many canoes of Indians 
came with fish and other things, inviting us to go to them, the 
general did not dare cast anchor among them, as he did not 
have men strong enough to raise the anchors, and as the sick 
were dying of hunger. 

We therefore continued our voyage for the island of Serros, 
and so great was our need of wood and water that we anchored 
there February 6th of the said year ; only one small anchor was 
cast, with the idea that if it could not be raised it could remain 
there with the cable. The general went on shore with six men, 
but the strongest of them could not lift a bottle of water from 
the ground, and only with the greatest efforts of all could they 
take on twelve quarters of water. The Indians of the island 
came down to the beach where the water hole was made, with 
their bows and arrows, painted with vermillion, and playing 
flutes, and although the general called and coaxed them and 
gave them hardtack, they would not accept it or approach 
peaceably, but, as before, tried to hinder and prevent the taking 
of water. This obliged the general to order some arquebus 
shots fired, though in the air, in order to terrify them ; thereupon 
they ran away up the mountain. 

The next day the general ordered Ensign Pasqual de Alarcon 
to go with the men to get wood on land. He did so, and at 
midnight on the 8th of the month we set sail, weighing anchor 
with the greatest efforts of all, and continued our voyage with a 
fresh wind behind us, skirting the coast, until the 11th of the 
month, when we drew near Cape San Lucas to bring away the 
long-boat which we had left there on the outward voyage, as 
well as to put in at the port of La Paz to await the succor we 
had sent to the viceroy to ask. All were of the opinion 1 that 

water, or even to weigh anchor once it was cast, it was concluded that no time 
should be lost, lest all might perish (Libro Diario, pp. 142-143). 

1 A council was held on the San Diego on February 13, off Cape San Lucas. 
The questions considered were whether to enter the Bay of San Bernabe to get 
the long-boat and await the fragata and then go to Puerto de la Paz to await new 
orders, or to proceed to New Spain as rapidly as possible. All were agreed that 
no stop should be made, because of the deplorable condition of the crew. The 
two caulkers were dead ; over forty-five men were ill, and not six were able-bodied ; 
the scanty provisions were foul. It was decided to go to Mazatlan where help 
could be had from the villa de San Sebastian (Libro Diario, pp. 143-148). This 
is the last council recorded. 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 99 

we should not put in at the said bay nor go to the port of La 
Paz, because the men were so sick and exhausted that if anchor 
were cast the ship would not be able to leave port. Some were 
of the opinion that we should cross over to the nearest port in 
New Spain to relieve our necessities, and others that we should 
go directly to Acapulco. In view of these opinions and con- 
sidering our great need, and as the sick were dying of hunger 
because they could not eat what was on board the ship on ac- 
count of their sore mouths, the general ordered that we go to 
the islands of Masatlan. 

Crossing the entrance of the Californias, we arrived there 
on the 18th of the said month, in the greatest affliction and 
travail ever experienced by Spaniards ; for the sick were crying 
aloud, while those who were able to walk or to go on all fours 
were unable to manage the sails. 

We cast anchor between the islands and the mainland and 
the next day the general determined to go to the mainland with 
five soldiers, since on all the ship there were no others able to 
walk. Without knowing the way, he travelled thirteen leagues 
inland through mountains and rugged places, for the pueblo of 
Masatlan, but, because there was no travelled road, and because 
of the wide, grassy plains, the trail was obscured and he fol- 
lowed the one leading to Culiacan. On the way his supply of 
food gave out and he straightway would have perished of 
hunger and thirst had not God miraculously provided a remedy 
in the form of a pack-train which was going to Culiacan from 
Mexico. The muleteer noticed him and saw how he had lost 
his way, and gave him wine and tortillas and bananas and riding 
animals, by means of which he went on to the pueblo of Saca- 
rita, subject to the villa of San Sebastian. 

Being informed of the necessity which had forced the gen- 
eral to go there to succor his perishing men, the alcalde mayor, 
Martin Ruis de Aguirre, aided him generously with such gifts 
as were within his jurisdiction, such as hens, chickens, kids, 
beef, veal, bread, fruits, and vegetables. These the general 
sent, and from them his men received great refreshment and 
nourishment. God, like a father of mercy, caused to be pro- 
vided in these islands a small fruit like agaves, called jucoystlis. 
These, because of their strength, when eaten by the men who 
had sore mouths caused the ulcers to slough off and bleed pro- 



100 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

fusely ; but such was the efficacy of the fruit that within six days 
there was not a single person whose mouth was not healed. 1 
Likewise, his Divine Majesty provided that the paralyzed and 
lame, without any manner of curing, without medicines, with 
only the fine climate and food, should all be healed, so that 
within the eighteen days we were on these islands, up to the 
9th of March, when we set sail, all became well and were able 
to assist in handling the ship and at the helm. Not to be tedi- 
ous, I do not tell of the hardships which the general endured on 
land, or of his ruined health, or of his outlay of money ; or of 
those who went with him, namely, Andres Leal, Juan Guerra, 
Christoval de los Reyes, Gonzalo Fernandes, and Diego Lopez, 
who can speak as eye-witnesses. 

As has been said, we set out from the islands for Acapulco, 
skirting the coast, and on the morning of the 10th of the said 
month were off Cape Corrientes, all very happy because the 
men were improving and becoming well. Continuing the voy- 
age, following the coast, we came to the port of Acapulco and 
anchored in it on Friday, the 21st of the said month, with great 
joy. It was marred however by the news that met us of the 
many deaths among those who had come on the admiral's ship 
with messages. For lack of necessities the greater part of the 
men who came on that ship died. The general found orders 
from the viceroy that the men should be paid what was due 
them, that they should be thanked for the good work they had 
done on this voyage, and that such as desired to enter the army 
or navy should go up to Mexico, in order that his Lordship 
might reward them in the name of his Majesty. The men re- 
ceived their pay with great satisfaction and the general took 
them all with him to Mexico at his own expense. 

We arrived at Mexico on Saturday, the 18th of March 2 of 
the said year, and went to Chapultepeque, 3 where his Lordship 
was, to kiss his hands. The viceroy welcomed the general very 
warmly and embraced the others, thanking them by word of 
mouth, and showing himself very grateful for the good work 

1 Since Captain Cook's time, lime-juice has been used for such exigencies. 

2 This must be a misprint for May. 

3 Chapultepec, the famous crag on which the viceroy's palace was located. 
It is now the site of the principal residence of the presidents of Mexico, and of a 
military college. 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 101 

they had done in the exploration. Some of them he appointed 
as captains and military officers for the aid and escort of the 
fleet which this year goes from San Juan de Ulua to Castile be- 
cause of the news received of the English corsair. Thus ended 
this exploration, his Lordship sending to his Majesty a copy of 
the record of all that was done in it, in order that in view of 
everything he may provide what is best for his royal service. 

Chapter 17. 

What the Frigate discovered after it separated from the Captain's 

Ship. 

We arrived, as has been said, at Mexico, where we found the 
boatswain, Estevan Lopez, accompanied by the pilot of the 
frigate, the Tres Reyes. He said that during the hurricane that 
struck us from the south-southwest in latitude 42° they sep- 
arated from us and kept running on, without being able to 
stop, as far as latitude 43°, at Cape Blanco. 1 He said that 
from that point the coast ran northeast, and the cold was so 
great that the} 7 thought they should be frozen, and they were in 
great danger of being lost. Ensign Martin de Aguilar, their 
commander, died, and also the pilot, Antonio Flores, and the 
said boatswain turned back in search of the captain's ship. 2 

1 This is shown on Burney's chart as Cavo Blanco de Aguilar, distinct from 
and a degree above Cavo de San Sebastian. 

2 The Relation of the boatswain of the Tres Reyes states that six leagues 
beyond "Puerto de los Reyes, which above they call Puerto de Don Gaspar," 
they found a "very, very large river" flowing from the southeast. This was 
evidently Tomales Bay (see Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 220). It is shown on 
the chart as Rio Grande de San Sebastian. Farther on, in lat. 41°, near Cape 
Mendocino, which is placed at 413^°, they found a very large bay into which 
entered a large river coming from the north. It had such a current that during 
a whole day they were able to enter it only two leagues. It was on a rise and 
carried logs. The country was heavily timbered with pine and oak forests. 
From this river to Cape Mendocino the direction was south. From the river 
to Cape Blanco in lat. 43° the coast ran northeast and continued in the same 
direction beyond, though it was scarcely seen, because they turned back there 
("Relacion que dio el Contramaestre," in Derrotero, p. 171). Torquemada states 
that the Tres Reyes, finding herself alone, continued north looking for the San 
Diego. In lat. 41° she was struck by a southeast wind, and took shelter near 
Cape Mendocino under a large rocky islet (Davidson thinks this was Redding 
Rock in 41° 22', Early Voyages, p. 232). Continuing close to the shore, on January 



102 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

In latitude 39^1° he discovered a copious river, and an 
island at the entrance of a very good and secure port, and an- 
other large bay in latitude 40 ^ °, into which another large river 
emptied. 1 A great number of Indians came out to them in 
canoes made of pine and cedar planks, but because there were 
so many people they did not dare to go up the river with the 
launch, although the Indians invited them to do so, giving 
them many fish, game, hazel nuts, chestnuts, acorns, and other 
things to induce them to go with them up the river. 

As he said that there were many Indians there, it was de- 
cided not to comply, but to go outside instead. And they re- 
turned along the coast, entering the port of Monte Rey, that of 
Los Reyes, the islands of Samta Catalina, and the port of San 
Diego. The Indians remembered them well, for though but 
six of our men remained in the said frigate, the rest having died 
of cold and sickness, the Indians were so friendly and so desirous 
of our friendship and so grateful for the kind treatment which 
they had received that they not only did them no harm, but 
showed them all the kindness possible. 

He said that they came hugging the coast all the way and 
arrived at the port of La Navidad on the 26th of the said month 
of February. Having no men with whom to take the frigate to 
Acapulco, he came to the viceroy in this city, who gave him an 
order to the effect that the alcalde mayor there should give him 
what was necessary for his voyage. Thus, thanks to God, all 
the ships which the general had taken had returned in safety, 
with no loss to the Real Hacienda. Thus ended this explora- 
tion, the viceroy sending a copy of the reports to his Majesty in 
order that he may provide what is most fitting for his royal 
service. 

Corrected by the original book of his Majesty, beginning 

19 they were at Cape Blanco, in 43°, whence the coast begins to run northwest. 
Near this place they found a large river, which they could not enter. Here they 
turned back. It looks as though the boatswain's river, just below Cape Men- 
docino, had been elevated by Torquemada to 43°. 

On the basis of Torquemada's narrative, which gives the direction of the 
coast incorrectly, Davidson (Early Voyages, p. 234) concludes that the Cabo 
Blanco de Aguilar was the white sand dune in lat. 42° 14', and that the river 
was the Rogue River, lat. 42° 25'. 

1 This is probably intended for the river and bay in 41° told of by the boat- 
swain and shown on the Carta just under Cape Mendocino. 



1603] DIARY OF VIZCAINO 103 

at the sixty-fifth folio and ending at the eighty-fifth, comprising 
twenty written folios, which are sent true and correct. There 
were present, as witnesses, at the copying and correcting, Juan 
Martin Marques, Antonio Luis, Andres Leal. In testimony 
whereof I signed and affixed my accustomed rubrics. Done in 
Mexico, the 8th day of the month of December, 1603. 
In testimony of the truth, 

Diego de Santiago, chief scrivener. 



A BRIEF REPORT OF THE DISCOVERY IN THE 

SOUTH SEA, BY FRAY ANTONIO DE LA 

ASCENSION, 1602-1603 * 

Memorial of Francisco de Arellano 

The name which your Lordship has so established by your 
eminent Christian works gives me courage to request your 
Lordship to glance over this letter, and to hold and acknowledge 
me as a servant of your Lordship's house, and as such to deign 
to honor and reward me. From the memorial and the papers 
which will appear in the Council, and from the letter which has 
been written from this city to his Majesty, in which informa- 
tion is given of my person, according to what, they say, they 
have been ordered by royal decree, your Lordship will recognize 
the obligation which constrains me to serve his Majesty, as I 
have always had very great desire to do and, whenever occasion 
has arisen, have tried to do. Father Fray Antonio de la Ascen- 
sion, of the Discalced Order of Carmelites, a person of very 
great virtue and holiness, concerning whom that Royal Council 
has information, and who took part in the discovery of the 
Calif ornias, and as cosmographer surveyed them and made that 
map of them and their seas and wrote a narrative, which he 
sent, has given me a full account of this discovery and of how 
great a service to our Lord and to his Majesty it would be if 
this land should be reduced to the royal crown, on account of 
its great riches, and for the conversion of so great a multi- 
tude of Indians. 

Since your Lordship is so eminent a Christian and so zealous 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos, VIII. 537-538 ; 
endorsed: "This report has been taken from the folio volume of manuscript in 
the Biblioteca Nacional which bears the signature 'J. 89,' and contains various 
papers relating to the Indies. First comes the holographic memorial of Don 
Francisco de Arellano, which we are publishing, and next the report in the form 
of a copy which seems to be contemporary." 

104 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 105 

for the honor of God and the service of his Majesty, it would 
be fitting that your Lordship should have examined the papers 
which Sebastian Vizcaino sent to the Council regarding this 
exploration, which are the same as I am sending, although 
[these are] more brief. As it is eighteen years since it was 
made, by order of his Majesty, while the Count of Monterey 
was viceroy of this New Spain, it may be that your Lordship 
has not heard of those papers, and that, for this reason, there 
has been a neglect of a matter so important, and one which 
might afford a beginning of a settlement and conquest at so lit- 
tle cost, since his Majesty has already 1 . . . [talked] of order- 
ing this realm explored and of sending discalced Carmelites 
to it for that conversion. 

I assure your Lordship that if I myself were in somewhat 
easier circumstances I would promise to make the beginning at 
my own expense and cost. But I promise what I can, which is 
my person, if it should be acceptable, and my very great desire 
to serve his Majesty, to whose royal feet I should wish to con- 
vey the conquered realm and the riches which are said to be 
therein. May God order everything to his greater honor and 
glory, and preserve your Lordship most happy years with the 
greatly merited lustre which your Lordship possesses and which 
I desire. 

Don Francisco Ramirez de Arellano. 

Mexico, December 21, 1620. 



A Brief Report 2 in which is given Information of the Discovery 
which was made in New Spain, in the South Sea, from the 
Port of Acapulco to a Point beyond Cape Mendocino ; con- 
taining an Account of the Riches, the Temperate Climate, 
and the Advantages of the Realm of the Calif ornias, and 
setting forth how his Majesty will be able at little cost to pacify 
it and incorporate it into his Royal Crown and cause the 
Holy Gospel to be preached in it. By Father Fray Antonio 

1 This is illegible. 

2 Pacheco and Cardenas, Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos, VIII. 539-574, 
endorsed: "B. N. [i, e., Biblioteca Nacional], J. 89. Found among other manu- 
script papers that treat of divers matters, in a small folio volume, board bind- 
ing, at folio 21." 



106 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

de la Ascension, a Religious of the Discalced Order of Car- 
melites, who took part in it and as Cosmographer made a 
map of it. 

I. 

In the past year of 1602, by order of our very Catholic and 
most Christian King, Philip III., king of Spain, Don Gaspar de 
Zuniga y Acevedo, Count of Monterey, may he be in heaven, 
being viceroy of New Spain, two small ships and a frigate were 
equipped by his order and command in the port of Acapulco, 1 
which is in New Spain, on the coast of the South Sea. They 
were supplied with all necessary arms and provisions for a voy- 
age of one year, 2 the time it was thought this expedition would 
last. Sebastian Vizcaino went as captain and commander of 
the soldiers and vessels and Captain Toribio Gomez de Corban 
went as admiral. There embarked in these ships and the frigate 
two hundred persons, 3 more or less, one hundred and fifty of 
them select and experienced soldiers, who were also very skilful 
sailors, to assist in whatever might present itself concerning 
affairs at sea as well as those of war on land, and to escort the 
general. Several famous captains and the ensign who had done 
heroic deeds in his Majesty's service in Flanders and Britain 
and in the cruise of the galleons embarked as counsellors, all 
well accustomed and experienced in affairs of war and of the sea. 
They were Captain Pascual de Alarcon, Captain Alonzo Este- 
ban Pequero, 4 Ensign Juan Francisco Sureano, 5 Ensign Juan de 
Acevedo Tejeda, and Ensign Melendez. And for steering the 
ships there went select pilots, very vigilant and experienced, 
two for each vessel. And for spiritual matters and the gui- 
dance of souls, three religious, priests of the Discalced Order of 
Carmelites, were appointed ; they were Father Andres de la 
Asumpcion, who went as commissary, Father Tomas de Aquino, 
and I, Father Antonio de Ascension, who writes this report. 
They were sent in order that in the name of his Majesty the 
king our Lord, and of his religion, and of the Province of San 
Alberto of New Spain, immediate possession might be taken of 

1 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 53, above, note 2. 

2 According to the junta held in the Bay of Monterey on December 18, the 
equipment was for eleven months. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 92, note 1. 

3 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 53, note 1. 

4 Peguero elsewhere. B Suriano elsewhere. 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 107 

the realm of the Californias which was to be discovered and 
explored ; in order that thenceforward they might take charge 
of the conversion and instruction of all the heathen Indians 
of that realm ; and in order that on the voyage they might ad- 
minister the sacraments to those who were in the ships. Be- 
sides these, the viceroy appointed two cosmographers, to survey 
and map all the coasts, with their ports, inlets, rivers, and bays, 
with their latitudes and longitudes. These were Captain 
Geronimo Martin Palacios and I, 1 1 having studied this art and 
science in the University of Salamanca, where I was born and 
reared, and where I studied until I took the holy habit which I 
unworthily wear. I have said this and signed here my name 
so that persons who may read this brief and concise report 
may be convinced that in all its contents I am telling the truth ; 
and in order not to be prolix I am brief in everything, with a 
style plain and simple, as will be seen in what follows. 

II. 

This armada sailed from the port of Acapulco the 5th day of 
the month of May, of the said year, 1602, every one, before 
embarking, having confessed and received communion, the cap- 
tains as well as the soldiers and cabin-boys of the two vessels. 

The order which the viceroy gave them was to explore all the 
coast from the above-mentioned port of Acapulco to the Point 
of California, and everything from there to Cape Mendocino ; 
and on returning, if there should be time and opportunity, to 
explore the Mediterranean Sea of California. 2 Pursuant to 
this order, the armada sailed northwest, coasting all along the 
shore and land of New Spain as far as the islands of Macatlan 
and thence crossing over so as to reach the Point of California. 
It is fifty leagues across the sea from one side to the other. 

From the time this armada sailed from the port of Acapulco 
until it reached Cape Mendocino there were always strong head- 
winds, because almost continually the northwest wind prevails 
on all this coast ; it was necessary, therefore, to sail with bow- 

1 In his correspondence and instructions the viceroy says nothing about 
Father Ascension's being appointed cosmographer. See Carrasco y Guisasola, 
Documentos, pp. 41-68. 

2 The order to explore the gulf was in the secret instructions. See p. 92, above. 



108 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

lines hauled, which was an incredible hindrance, as there were 
days when it was not able to gain a league's headway. Tacking 
to the sea or to the land, one way or the other, the voyage was 
made, and for this reason the outward trip was very prolonged, 
and all the ports, bays, rivers, and inlets of the entire coast were 
examined very minutely. It took us nine months from the 
time we left Acapulco to reach Cape Mendocino, where we 
arrived on the 20th 1 day of the month of January, 1603. Cape 
Mendocino is in latitude 42° north, and we went even farther, 
to the latitude of 43°, to what was named Cape San Sebastian, 
where the coast turns to the northeast, and where the en- 
trance to the Strait of Anian seems to begin. 

III. 

This exploration was made with very great care and vigi- 
lance and cost a great deal of labor and exertion and tedious 
illness, and the lives of many who took part in it, because of 
undergoing so much labor, in continual pain and always 
struggling against the wild waves which the sea heaved up 
and against the winds which caused them. Moreover, the 
provisions became so stale that they finally had no virtue or 
nutrition. From these two causes there ensued a sickness 
like a pest, which affected every one and was extremely pain- 
ful, so that more than forty-four 2 persons died on the voyage. 
I made a report of all that happened on this voyage, in which 
is related at length everything that took place during it and 
what was seen and discovered on it, and upon which I rely. 
This armada returned to Acapulco, and the captain's ship, in 
which I came, 3 entered it March 21 of the said year, 1603. 

1 The author is careless here, and confuses Cape Mendocino with Cape 
San Sebastian. They arrived at the former place on the 12th, and at the latter, 
in lat. 42°, on the 20th. Cape Blanco was given in the official records as in 43° 
(see Vizcaino's diary, p. 101). The latitude of Cape Mendocino was variously 
given as 41°, 41 H°, and 42^°. 

2 According to Torquemada forty-eight died, including Alferez Juan de 
Acevedo Texada, Alferez Sebastian Melendez, Alferez Martin de Aguilar Galeote, 
pilot Antonio Flores, pilot Baltasar de Armas, Sergeant Miguel de Legar, and 
Sergeant Juan del Castillo Bueno (Monarchia Indiana, I. 724-725). In his let- 
ter to the King, dated May 23, 1603, Vizcaino stated that forty-two had died. 

3 On the outward voyage he was on the almiranta as far as the Bay of Mon- 
terey. 






1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 109 

Thus eleven months were spent on the voyage from the time 
of sailing until port was made. In this short account I will 
speak briefly of some of the most important things I saw, 
learned, and observed throughout the land and seacoast 
which we saw and explored. 

IV. 

This realm of California is very large and embraces much 
territory, nearly all inhabited by numberless people. It has 
a good climate, is very fertile, and abounds in many and vari- 
ous kinds of trees, the most of them like those in Spain, abun- 
dant pastures of good grazing land, and a great number of differ- 
ent kinds of animals and birds. The sea of all this coast is 
full of a variety of savory and wholesome fish, which I will 
mention later. All the land of this realm is in the temperate 
zone, which is situated in the northern division, and the cli- 
mates 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 1 pass over it. It has the exact form 
and shape of a casket, being broad at the top and narrow at 
the point. It is this latter which we commonly call Punta de la 
California. From there it widens out to Cape Mendocino, 
which we will describe as being the top and breadth of it. 
The breadth of this land from here to the other sea, where the 
Mediterranean Sea of California comes and connects with the 
sea that surrounds and encircles Cape Mendocino, must be 
about one hundred leagues. 2 In this part this realm has north 
of it the Kingdom of Anian, and to the east the land which is 
continuous with the realm of Quivira. Between these two' 
realms extends the strait of Ajiian, which runs to the North 
Sea, having joined the Oceanic Sea which surrounds Cape Men- 
docino and the Mediterranean Sea of California, both of which 
are united at the entrance of this strait which I call Anian. 
Toward the west is the realm of China, and toward the south 
all the realm of Japan. The most modern maps show that 
from the meridian corresponding to the Point of California 
to the meridian corresponding to Cape Mendocino there are 
sixty degrees of longitude ; so that if we give sixteen and a 
hah leagues to each degree, according to the reckoning of 

1 Climate in the old astronomical sense — so many degrees of latitude. 

2 This passage is a fair statement of the geographical notions concerning 
the Northwest after Iturbi's expedition. 



110 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

cosmographers, it is about one thousand leagues long; but 
if according to the reckoning of mariners, who give twenty- 
five leagues to each degree, we should say that its coast and 
shore is more than fifteen hundred leagues long from north- 
west to southeast, which is the direction all this realm runs 
and trends. In latitude, or breadth, it extends from the 
Tropic of Cancer, that is, from the Point of California, called 
Cape San Lucas, which is under that tropic, to the latitude 
of 50°, the highest latitude of this realm — which, I said, is 
where unite the two seas that surround this realm. 

Thus it is plain that this realm of California is a land sep- 
arate and distinct from the lands of New Mexico and the realm 
of Quivira, which is continuous with the latter, although there 
is a long distance and much territory between the one realm 
and the other. The sea between these two realms, which is 
the one called the Mediterranean Sea of California, since it 
is between lands so large and extended, must be about fifty 
leagues wide. In the middle of it there are many islands, 
some small and others larger ; but I cannot say whether they 
are inhabited or not. The inhabitants of Cape Mendocino 
are so opposite and remote from the kingdom of Old Castile in 
our Spain that it is midnight in the noted city and university 
of Salamanca when it is noon at Cape Mendocino, and vice 
versa: so that they are the antipodes of each other, being op- 
posite each other, and in the same climate, but with different 
and diametrically opposite meridians. Hence it follows that 
they must possess the same atmospheric conditions and climate, 
having the same winter, summer, and autumn. It is possible 
that they differ in some conditions and temperatures, because 
of the different influences of the vertical stars which affect 
their qualities. 

Those who are acquainted with and understand the sphere 
and cosmography will have no doubt of this ; but in order to 
make myself better understood I made for those who do not 
understand it a geographic map of it all, which I have with 
me ; and I am sending a copy of it to his Majesty and to his 
Royal Council of the Indies, that they may understand the 
great size and the situation of this great realm. And I believe 
it will be indispensable and important, in order that the pres- 
ent maps of the world may be compared with it and corrected, 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 111 

because many of the things which are depicted in them relat- 
ing to matters of this realm are very different from what they 
actually are. This is not to be wondered at, since the land 
and seacoast of this realm have never been viewed or explored 
so exactly and designedly as on this expedition, which went 
solely for this purpose. 



The Cape of San Lucas, 1 which is at the extremity of Cali- 
fornia, whence all this realm begins and takes its name, forms 
in its shelter a bay called San Bernabe, so spacious that it is 
a good bay and will accommodate many ships, although it is 
not protected on all sides. This bay, or cape, of San Lucas 
is under the Tropic of Cancer, and off the islands of Magatlan, 
which, on the coast of New Spain, are the frontier and limit 
on this side of the bishopric of Guadalajara and of the king- 
dom which they call Nueva Galicia. It is fifty leagues, more 
or less, across the sea, which is the width of the Mediterranean 
Sea of California between the realm of California and that of 
Galicia. This latter joins the kingdom of New Spain and ex- 
tends to New Mexico, continuing to the kingdom of Quivira, 
and terminating at the Strait of Anian, as has already been 
said. Some call it the Mediterranean because it flows between 
these two large realms; others call it the Vermillion Sea, 
since in this passage the water looks a bright reddish color, 
perhaps because the land at the bottom is red, or it may be 
from the spawn brought here by the river-fish that come to 
swim in that sea, this color being caused by the blood; for 
once I saw that the water at the port of Acapulco was of this 
bright reddish color, and they told me that it was because of 
the fish spawn. On the old maps it is called the bay, or gulf, 
of Ballenas, 2 because there, as on all the coast as far as Cape 
Mendocino, there are so many whales that they cannot be 
numbered, nor would it be believed by anybody who had not 
seen them. And because until now 3 it has been understood 
to be a bay or large gulf, formed there by the sea, and not a 
regular and continuous sea, which it is, they gave it this name. 

1 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 56, above, note 1. 2 Whales. 

3 The allusion is perhaps to the results of the Iturbi and Onate expeditions. 



112 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

In this passage are the islands called the Marias, and an- 
other small one called San Andres ; and through all this sea 
there are many other islands. Among them, facing the port 
formed by the Tizon River/ which flows into this sea from 
New Mexico in latitude 35°, is the island of Giganta, 2 where 
lives the queen of the neighboring peoples. In this sea, on 
both shores, other islands also, as well as the land of Califor- 
nia, have many oyster-beds, which produce pearls, many, rich, 
and large. They are found as far as latitude 36°, as I say in 
the last chapter of the report which I made of this discovery. 

VI. 

I will say that the wealth and abundance of pearls in this 
sea is very great, a thing which is well known and remarked 
upon by persons who have coasted along the sea; and they 
are, indeed, large and beautiful, choice, and very perfect. 
The oysters are not very deep, for the Indians search for and 
bring them up. This is not to make use of the pearls, because 
they do not understand or value them, but only to eat the 
fish within. In order to open the oysters and more easily 
extract their contents they put them in the fire, whereupon 
they open and the pearls are burned or smoked. When found 
they are thrown away, as if they were stones of no value. 

There are many different kinds of fish in this sea, large 
and small, which are seen to go in shoals or schools. As they 
are fish known in other seas, I will here name some of those 
I have caught, had in my hands, and eaten, 3 so that the abun- 
dance, excellence, and wealth of that sea may be understood. 
There are, as I have said, multitudes of very large whales, 
and a great quantity of sardines, large and small, slender and 
thick, which are, according to what they say, the common 
sustenance of the whales, and may be it is for this reason there 
are so many. There are ruffles, porgy, sea-bass, corrundas, 
small sharks, or dog-fish, sturgeon, esmirigalas, skate, salmon, 
tunny, ray, chucos, sea-horse, little bass, striped tunny, gilt- 

1 The Colorado, named Rio del Tiz6n (Firebrand) by the Alarcon expedi- 
tion in 1540. 

2 See the account of Ofiate's journey to California, p. 276. 

3 When in California with Vizcaino, presumably. 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 113 

head. sole, mutton-fish, porpoise, newts, tirgueros, common 
oysters, those that bear pearls, and many other never seen 
and unknown. And there are octopus. One was caught so 
large that it wrapped itself around the buoy-rope or line by 
which the buoy was fastened to the anchor ; although it was 
very heavy, as it had a firm hold, the ship raised it and dragged 
it behind. 1 It had a mouth like a half -moon. I measured it 
from one point to the other, crosswise, and it was a vara and 
three quarters, and from the head to the end of the tail it was 
five and one quarter varas. It was broad and flat like a 
mantle. These fish are of fine flavor, palatable, and whole- 
some. All these varieties were caught every year by casting 
the net. or seine. Sometimes the seine was so full that it 
broke. 

VII. 

The country of this Cape San Lucas is very fertile and health- 
ful, with a fine climate and clear sky. It has good level land 
and is not very mountainous. All of it is perfectly adapted 
to cultivation and to keeping and raising stock, both cattle 
and sheep, goats and swine. There is plenty of wild game for 
hunting and fowling, such as rabbits, hare, deer, lions, tigers, 
armadillos, ringdoves, quail, and many ducks. Of trees, there 
are figs, broccoli, agaves, mangroves, mastick, and, near the 
beach, a grove of plum trees. 

In place of gum or resin, they exude in great quantities 
very good and fragrant incense. The fruit which they pro- 
duce is very delicious, as I have been told by those who have 
tried it on other occasions. There is also on the shore of this 
land which encircles the Bay of San Bernabe, where I saw all 
the things mentioned, a lagoon of good fresh water, 2 all sur- 
rounded and hedged in with brambles. On the other side, 
near the rocks and the beach, there is a little lagoon of salt 
water, left by the sea in high winds, which was covered, all 
around, with very good salt, plentiful, white, and of a good 
taste. Here also are many robust Indians, of good disposi- 
tion, who use bows, arrows, and darts for arms. They gave 
indications of being bellicose and spirited ; for, when some 

1 Evidently an incident of the Vizcaino voyage. 

2 For this lagoon see the Carta. 



114 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

natives came to see us at this port, they said that if the soldiers 
would put away the arquebuses they carried they would also 
come without arms. Laying them aside, they seated them- 
selves, saying in a loud voice "Vtesi," that is to say, "Seat 
yourselves" or "be seated," which is the surest and most 
certain sign of peace in use among them. With this ceremony 
they came peaceably, and treated us with friendliness and 
civility, although always with extreme caution and suspicion, 
and on hearing an arquebus discharged they immediately ran 
away. When they came, they always brought with them 
such little things as they had, showing themselves to be a 
people grateful and thankful for what the soldiers and religious 
gave them. 

VIII. 

It is at this port that his Majesty should order the first 
settlement of Spaniards to be made when he sends people to 
pacify the country, in order that the pacification of all this 
realm and the preaching of the Holy Gospel may begin here. 
It is situated near and convenient for trade and communi- 
cation with New Spain and Peru, as the ships to New Spain 
touch at this place when they come from Peru by the new mode 
of navigation now in use, and they come in one month. Be- 
sides these, it has other advantages for sustaining human life, 
and for enabling the Spaniards to keep their trade and com- 
merce in good and secure communication, because, besides 
the pearl-fisheries near by, there is, on the south coast, a 
neighboring land which we call Sierra Pintada or del Enfado. 1 
It has many minerals of various kinds; and one can go by 
land to extract them, and to get the gold and silver which they 
may contain. Apparently they are very abundant, according 
to experience and trustworthy information upon which I rely. 

It is the best place that could be found in the world for 
the maintenance and mode of life of the Discalced Carmelite 
religious (who, by order of the king, our lord, have charge of 
the conversion of this realm), and for their abstemious and 
penitent life, because of the good mild climate as well as the 
great abundance of many kinds of good fish, as is stated above. 
The heat of the climate is not so excessive as to need linen, 

1 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 57, above. 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 115 

nor does it require much protection against the cold, so that 
one kind of clothing can be worn all the time. Moreover, 
the proximity of the country to New Spain and the facility 
of navigation from one realm to the other is very important 
for providing it with the religious, for governing them by one 
provincial, and for conveying some and bringing back others, 
according as the necessity of the religious may require ; for, 
having settlements as far as the port of Navidad where they 
can embark if they do not wish to go to Acapulco, in a month 
one can go from Mexico to the Californias with great ease 
and comfort. 

IX. 

After remaining in this port and bay of San Bernabe some 
days, we set sail 1 for the purpose of making the exploration 
of Cape Mendocino. As the coast runs from southeast to 
northwest, and as the wind is continually from that quarter, 
that is, northwest, we found it so severe and strong that four 
times against our will it forced us to put back into the port 
from which we sailed. Finally, at the end of some days, with 
bowlines hauled, we made our way and arrived at the port of 
Magdalena, 2 which was formerly called the port of Santiago. 3 
Here the Indians received us peacefully and, as an acknowledg- 
ment of submission, offered the Spaniards their bows and ar- 
rows, very nicely wrought, and brought some incense like that 
we had procured in the Bay of San Bernabe, a sign that there 
are here a great number of these trees which produce it. An 
arm of the sea enters this port, unless it is some large river 
which disembogues here and empties into the sea. But it 
was ascended only about a league, being left for exploration 
when we should return from Cape Mendocino. Here many 
Indians came out to us in their canoes and showed themselves 
friendly and gentle. 

This port is very good and spacious, and has two mouths 
or entrances. By one, small vessels only can enter; b}^ the 
other large ones can enter, as it has good soundings. Here 

1 They set sail the first time on June 19, finally on July 5. See Vizcaino's 
diary, pp. 57, 58, above. 

2 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 59, above, note 1. 

3 By Cabrillo it was called Port of San Pedro. See p. 14, note 4. 



116 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

and all along this coast there are many whales, and, if it is 
true that amber comes from their filth, as I understand, from 
what I saw on this voyage, there must be much amber on this 
coast ; for not far from this place, though farther up on the 
same coast, we found another port, which was named San 
Bartolomeo, on whose shore was a large quantity of ambergris, 1 
in cakes, like soft, whitish pitch. We did not recognize it as 
such, and for this reason we took no notice of it. Afterward, 
when giving a description of it to those who are well acquainted 
with amber, they said that it was very fine ambergris. There 
was a large quantity of it in this port. Perhaps God our 
Lord allowed none of those who went there to know this, since 
it may be that in the interest of going to obtain it his Majesty 
will send ministers with the design of converting those Indians, 
for according to the signs which they gave it will be easy to 
bring them into our Catholic faith. 

X. 

We went forward, making the exploration carefully and 
slowly, because head winds impeded it. Other ports and is- 
lands were discovered along the coast, and all along it there 
were many Indians, who signalled us with smoke columns 
and other signs ; but, in order to reach Cape Mendocino, every- 
thing was left to be examined on our return. Finally, after 
much labor we reached the port of San Diego, 2 which is very 
good and capacious and offers many very good advantages 
for Spanish settlement. Here the ships were cleaned and 
oiled again, the place being quiet, and there being many 
friendly and affable Indians there. They use bows and ar- 
rows and appear warlike and valiant, since, notwithstanding 
they came to see us every day, they always treated us with 
so great a distrust that they never had complete confidence 
in us. They pronounced so very well in our language what 
they heard us speak that anyone hearing them and not seeing 
them would say they were Spaniards. Every day they would 
come in order that we might give them some of the fish we 
caught in the net, and they would go away quietly after they 
had helped to haul it in. 

1 Port of San Bartolome. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 64, above, note 3. 

2 November 10, 1602. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 80, above, note 1. 



1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 117 

The harbor is large and secure, and has a large beach within, 
like an island of sand, 1 which the sea covers at high tide. In 
the sand on this beach there is a great quantity of yellow 
pyrites, all full of holes, a sure sign that in the neighboring 
mountains and adjacent to this port there are gold mines; 
for the water, when it rains, brings it from the mountains, and 
the whole watershed converges here. On the sandy beach which 
I said was in this harbor we found some large pieces, like adobe, 
brown or dark red in color, and very light in weight, like dried 
cowdung. They had neither a good nor a bad odor, and they 
are said to be amber. If this is so, there are great riches and 
an abundance of amber here. 

There are many different kinds of fish, of very good taste 
and flavor, such as ray, sea-horse, lobster, crab, guitarras, sar- 
dine, turtle, and many other kinds. There is much wild game 
for hunting and fowling; and there are many large, grassy 
pastures. The Indians paint themselves white, and black, and 
dark London blue. This color comes from certain very heavy 
blue stones, which they grind very fine, and, dissolving the 
powder in water, make a stain, with which they daub the face 
and make on it lines which glisten like silver ribbons. These 
stones seem to be of rich silver ore, and the Indians told us 
by signs that from similar stones a people living inland, of 
form and figure like our Spaniards, 2 bearded, and wearing 
collars and breeches, and other fine garments like ours, secured 
silver in abundance, and that they had a name for it in their 
own language. To ascertain whether these Indians knew silver, 
the general showed them some silver bowls and a plate. They 
took it in their hands and spun it around, and, pleased by the 
sound, said it was good, and was the same as that possessed 
and valued highly by the people of whom they had told us. 
Then he put in their hands a pewter bowl, but when they 
struck it the sound did not please them and, spitting, they 
wanted to throw it into the sea. 3 

The people of whom the Indians told us might have been 

1 The Peninsula. See Davidson, Early Voyages, p. 194. 

2 The Spaniards of the Onate Expedition had recently entered New Mexico, 
and the Indians perhaps referred to their activities. 

3 In the official diary this incident or one very similar is related as occurring 
on the San Buenaventura coast. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 88, above. 



118 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1602 

foreigners, Hollanders or English, who had made their voyage 
by the Strait of Anian and might be settled on the other coast 
of this land, facing the Mediterranean Sea of California. 
Since the realm is narrow, as has been said, it may be that the 
other sea is near that place ; for the Indians offered to guide 
and take us to the place where they say the people are 
settled. If this is so, it is probable they have large interests 
and profits there, since their voyage is so long and difficult. 
Still, it is true that by passing through the Strait of Anian 
and reaching their land by that latitude, their voyage is only 
half as long as that from the port of San Juan de Ulua to Spain. 
This will be clearly seen from evidence furnished by the globe. 
In this case, it will be to his Majesty's interest to endeavor to 
assure himself of the fact : first, in order to know the route, 
and secondly, in order to expel from there such dangerous 
enemies, lest they contaminate the Indians with their sects 
and liberty of conscience, by which great harm to their souls 
will follow, whereby instructing them and leading them in the 
paths of the true law of God will be made very difficult. Be- 
sides this, his Majesty will be able to secure many other ad- 
vantages, as I shall show later. 

XI. 

After we left the Port of San Diego we discovered many 
islands placed in a line, one behind another. 1 Most of them 
were inhabited by many friendly Indians, who have trade 
and commerce with those of the mainland. It may be that 
they are vassals of a petty king who came with his son from 
the mainland in a canoe with eight oarsmen, to see us and to 
invite us to go to his land, saying that he would entertain us and 
provide us with anything which we needed and he possessed. 2 
He said that he came to see us on account of what the inhabi- 
tants of these islands had reported to him. There are many 
people in this land, so many that the petty king, seeing tha,t 
there were no women on the ships, offered by signs to give to 
everyone ten women apiece if they would all go to his land, 
which shows how thickly populated it all is. And besides, 

1 Particularly the Santa Barbara Islands. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 83, above. 

2 See Vizcaino's diary, ibid. 






1602] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 119 

all along, day and night, they made many bonfires, the sign 
in use among them to call people to their land. Since there 
was no convenient port where the ships could be secure in 
the country whence this petty king came, the acceptance of 
his invitation was deferred until the return voyage. 

Thereupon we went forward with our voyage, and at the 
end of some days arrived at a fine port, which was named 
Monterrey. 1 It is in latitude 37°, in the same climate and 
latitude as Seville. This is where the ships coming from the 
Philippines to New Spain come to reconnoitre. It is a good 
harbor, well sheltered, and supplied with water, wood, and 
good timber, both for masts and ship building, such as pines, 
five oaks, and great white oaks, large and frondose, and many 
black poplars on the banks of a river that near by enters the 
sea and was named the Carmelo. 2 In climate, in birds and 
game, in variety of animals and trees, in everything it is essen- 
tially like our Old Spain. When the ships from China arrive 
at this place they have already sailed four months and they 
come in need of repairs, which in this harbor they can make 
very well, and with perfect convenience; therefore it would 
be a very good thing for the Spaniards to settle this port for 
the assistance of navigators, and to undertake the conversion 
to our Holy Faith of those Indians, who are numerous, docile, 
and friendly. And from here they might trade and traffic 
with the people of China and Japan, opportunity for that 
being favorable because of propinquity. 

The land of this country is very fertile and has good pas- 
tures and forests, and fine hunting and fowling. Among the 
animals there are large, fierce bears, and other animals called 
elks, from which they make elk-leather jackets, 3 and others 
of the size of young bulls, 4 shaped and formed like deer, with 
thick, large horns. There were many Castilian roses here. 
There are pretty ponds of fresh water. The mountains near 
this port were covered with snow, and that was on Christmas 
day. On the beach was a dead whale, and at night some 
bears came to feed on it. 

There are many fish here, and a great variety of mollusks 
among the rocks ; among them there were certain barnacles, 

1 December 16. 2 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 91, above. 3 Cuiras. 

4 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 91. Possibly the antelope. 



120 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

or large shells, fastened to the lowest part of the rocks. The 
Indians hunt for them to extract from them their contents to 
eat. These shells are very bright, of fine mother-of-pearl. 1 All 
along this coast, there is a great abundance of sea-wolves or 
dogs, 2 of the size of a yearling calf. They sleep on the water, 
and sometimes go ashore to take the sun; and there they 
place their sentinel in order to be secure from enemies. The 
Indians clothe themselves in the skins of these animals, which 
are healthful, fine, beautiful, and convenient. Finally, I will 
say that this is a good and commodious port, and might be 
settled, but this should be done in the way which I shall set 
forth hereafter. 

XII. 

We set sail from here after dispatching the admiral's ship 
to New Spain with the news of what had been discovered and 
with the sick who were unfit for service. Among them returned 
Father Tomas de Aquino, one of the three religious who were 
going in this fleet, because he had been ill many days, and in 
order that the sick might have someone to confess them should 
God desire to relieve them of this life. Our departure in quest 
of Cape Mendocino was made on the first Sunday after Epiph- 
any, 3 of the year 1603. On the coast we noted the port of 
San Francisco, 4 where in times past there was lost a ship 
from China which was coming with orders to explore this 
coast. I believe that much of the wax and porcelain which 
the vessel carried is there to-day. And we arrived at Cape 
Mendocino 5 in latitude 42°, which is the highest latitude at 
which the China ships sight land. Here, because of the se- 
verity of winter in this climate, and of the cold, and the stiff- 
ness of the rigging, and because almost all the crew were ill, the 
sails were lowered. The captain's ship got into the trough 
of the sea, and, as it could not be steered, the currents that 

1 Clearly the abalone. 

2 Probably the sea lion instead of the seal proper. 

3 January 5. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 94. The day of sailing is given there 
as Friday, January 3. 

4 Drake's Bay, called San Francisco by the Cermefio expedition. See 
Vizcaino's diary, p. 94. 

6 January 12, according to Vizcaino's diary, p. 95. 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 121 

run to the Strait of Anian whose entrance begins here, carried 
it little by little toward land. In eight days we had ascended 
more than one degree of latitude, which was up to 43°, in sight 
of a cape that was named San Sebastian. 1 Near it empties 
a river that was called Santa Inez. 2 No one landed here, as 
all the crew were very ill, only six persons being able to walk. 
Here the coast and land turns to the northeast, and here is 
the head and end of the realm and mainland of California 
and the entrance to the Strait of Anian. If on this occasion 
there had been on the captain's ship even fourteen sound men, 
without any doubt we should have ventured to explore and 
pass through this Strait of Anian, since all were of good cour- 
age to do this. But the general lack of health and of men 
who could manage the sails and steer the ship obliged us to 
turn about toward New Spain, to report what had been dis- 
covered and seen, and lest the whole crew should die if we re- 
mained longer in that latitude. 3 

With this decision and agreement the return voyage was 
begun. It was made by coasting along shore with favorable 
winds, exploring all the ports, bays, and inlets that we had 
sighted on our outward voyage. 4 As the northwest wind is 
so usual and continual on this coast, one can easily come from 
Cape Mendocino to the port of Acapulco in one month, if the 
pilot knows how to choose the correct routes at the proper 
times, as I set them down in an itinerary which I made for 
this voyage. The course which we took on our return was 
along the coast, and so near it that everything on it was 
seen with great clearness and distinctness. 5 The Indians, as 
they saw us pass at a distance, sent up columns of smoke and 
other signals to attract us ; and wherever we landed they gave 
indications of their good natures and intelligence, hence it ap- 

1 Father Ascension is again careless with his latitudes. Cape San Sebastian 
was estimated as at or near 42° and Cape Blanco, reached by the Tres Reyes, 
in 43°. See Vizcaino's diary, pp, 95, 96, 101. 

2 By the Vizcaino diary and the Pianos this river, not named, was placed 
below Cape Mendocino. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 102, note. 

3 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 96, note 1, for an account of the junta which de- 
cided to return. 

4 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 97, note 1, for a statement regarding the explora- 
tion made on the return. 

5 Yet they missed San Francisco Bay. 



122 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

peared to us all that they might easily and with very little 
labor be taught our Holy Catholic faith, and that they would 
receive it well and lovingly. But this should be done with 
great prudence and in the manner that our Master and Re- 
deemer, Jesus Christ, taught us in his Holy Gospel. 

As to how persons should be sent to new lands for the con- 
version of the heathen Indians, I wrote a brief treatise, which 
I sent to the king, our lord, Philip III. In it I discuss what 
ought to be done that the people may be converted and that 
his Majesty may with just title become the lawful emperor 
and lord of their lands; and to this I refer the reader. 
Nevertheless, as there I have treated of the general instruc- 
tion for all, here, for the sake of greater clearness, I will set 
forth briefly what his Majesty can and ought to do for the 
conversion of the Indians of this great realm of the Calif ornias 
in particular, and to pacify their lands and become lord over 
them with good conscience, as will be seen by beginning with 
number 23 * below of this little treatise. 

Finally, returning to our voyage, I will say that we returned 
to the port of Acapulco on March 22, 2 of the year 1603, hav- 
ing passed through great labor and severe illness, of which 
died the number of people that I mentioned at the beginning ; 
and I made a full report of all that happened on the voyage, 
and a map of the situation of this realm. 

XIII. 

The Method to be observed in Subduing and Settling 
the Realm of Californias. 3 

All this realm of the Californias can be pacified and settled, 
and by this means and by the preaching of the Holy Gospel 
its natives can be led to the fold of our Holy Mother, the 
Roman Catholic Church, and converted to our Holy Catholic 
Faith. Now, in order that this may become an accomplished 
fact, and that his Majesty may effect it at a moderate ex- 

1 A mistake for 13. 

2 On page 108 he gives the date as March 21, as does the Vizcaino diary, p. 100. 

3 The following is an excellent outline of an ideal missionary "pacification" 
of a new Spanish frontier. 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 123 

pense, that which must be commanded, ordered, and provided 
is as follows : 

There should be prepared and equipped in the port of Aca- 
pulco two small vessels of two hundred tons burden, and a 
frigate, with boats and skiffs for their service ; and they should 
be abundantly supplied with stores and munitions of war, as 
well as with food, rigging, canvas, and everything that may 
seem necessary for settling in infidel and heathen lands. 

While these things are being provided and prepared, there 
should be raised in Mexico as many as two hundred soldiers, 
care being taken that they should be good seamen, and also 
that they be old soldiers, expert and experienced as well in 
arms as in seamanship, in order that all, uniformly and with- 
out distinction, may aid in everything as occasion may offer. 
And let care be taken that they be good and honorable men 
in order that on the journey both on sea and land there may 
be peace, union, and brotherhood among all. Plenty of men 
of these parts and talents will very easily be found in Mex- 
ico if his Majesty will increase their pay in proportion as the 
double service they have to render demands, and if their pay 
and allowance be given them punctually when due. 

The duty of raising this troop should be assigned to one or 
two captains, good Christians and God-fearing men, and per- 
sons of merit, who have served his Majesty faithfully on other 
occasions, in war on land as well as in the fleets at sea. To 
them should be entrusted the appointment of officers to ac- 
company them, who should be persons they are satisfied will 
perform their service in a Christian and careful manner, 
and men of experience, who know how to fulfill the offices 
committed to them, for on these officers depend the good order 
and discipline of the soldiers. This expedition must be en- 
trusted to a person of courage and talents, of long experience, 
and accustomed to such charges, in order that he may know 
how to treat all with love and dignity, and each one individu- 
ally as his character deserves. Let care be taken that such 
a person be God-fearing, scrupulous in his conscience, and 
zealous in the service of his Majesty and in the things relat- 
ing to the conversion of these souls. To a person of these 
qualities can be given the office of general of the armada, to 
whom all, both captains and soldiers, will be subject, and 



124 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

whom they will obey in everything, and whose orders they 
will follow. 

To the general, captains, soldiers, and all who go on this 
expedition, must be given express order and command that 
they shall hold themselves in strict obedience and subjection 
to the religious who are in their company, and that without 
their order, counsel, and advice, war may not be made, or the 
heathen Indians be otherwise molested, even if they should 
give occasion, in order that by this means matters may be 
conducted with peace and Christianity, and with love and 
quiet, which is the method to be used in the pacification of 
that realm, and in the preaching of the Holy Gospel, to which 
end and aim these expenses and preparations are directed. 
Not to do this, but the contrary, will be to waste everything, 
to lose time, and to render the expenditure ineffectual, as has 
been found by experience many times in this New Spain, in 
other conquests and pacifications of new lands, whereby God 
our Lord has been more injured than served. 

XIV. 

The religious who should go on this expedition are the 
Discalced of Our Lady of Carmel, the ones to whom are in- 
trusted by his Majesty the conversion, instruction, and teach- 
ing of the Indians of this realm of the Californias. On this 
first entrance there should be six religious, four priests and two 
lay brothers ; and it will be requested of the superiors of this 
order, in the name of his Majesty, that those whom they as- 
sign and appoint for this voyage be persons such as the occa- 
sion and enterprise demand, holy, affable, full of love and 
wisdom, that they may know how to counsel, guide and direct 
these souls, and to deal with such cases as may present them- 
selves conformably with sound Catholic doctrine. 

By observing the indulgences and benefits which the Su- 
preme Pontiffs have granted in favor of new conversions, for 
their greater increase, these holy friars, with their piety, mod- 
esty, simplicity, and religious graciousness, will succeed in win- 
ning the wills and hearts of both general and captains, as well 
as of all the soldiers, in order thereby to lead them in the holy 
path of virtue; and may they with loving arguments per- 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 125 

suade and admonish all, before embarking, to confess their 
sins and receive the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist, 
with all the devotion and inclination possible, offering their 
souls and lives to the service of his divine Majesty, asking of 
him success for their voyage and expedition. By doing this, 
with the proper spirit and devotion, the religious will make 
themselves lords over the hearts and wills of all, and will have 
authority over all to keep them in peace, love, and unity; 
and if perchance there should be any dissension among them, 
they will calm it at once with discretion, and thus animosities, 
vexations, and enmities, and the mutinies, insurrections, and 
disobedience to superiors which ordinarily occur on such 
enterprises, will be avoided. 

These religious will be provided with everything neces- 
sary for their voyage, such as vessels for saying mass and 
administering the sacraments, books and vestments and, in 
particular, something in the way of delicacies that they 
may have wherewith to give to the sick if there should be 
any. Likewise, there should be taken on board at the cost 
of his Majesty a quantity of trifles, Flemish trinkets, such 
as beads of colored glass, artificial garnets, hawks' bells, mir- 
rors, knives, cheap scissors, Parisian tops, and some articles of 
clothing. 

These things should be divided among the religious and 
soldiers, so that in places where they may go on shore or 
where they may choose sites for settlements in the lands of 
the heathen, they may distribute them, with signs of love 
and good will, in the name of his Majesty, in order that with 
these pleasing gifts the heathen Indians may come to feel love 
and affection for the Christians, and may realize that they are 
coming to their lands to give them of that which they bring, 
and not to take away their possessions, and may understand 
that they are seeking the good of their souls. This is a mea- 
sure of great importance, to the end that the Indians may be- 
come quiet, humane, and peaceable, and obey the Spaniards 
without opposition or repugnance, and receive with plea- 
sure those who go to preach to them the Holy Gospel and the 
mysteries of our Holy Catholic faith ; to the end, moreover, 
that the Indians may be grateful and thankful, and, in recom- 
pense and pay for what is given them, may assist with what- 



126 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

ever of value they may have in their land, things to eat as well 
as other articles, as they did with us. 

With this preparation, the soldiers and religious should 
embark in the ships provided, no woman going or embarking 
with them, to avoid offenses to God and dissensions between 
one another. With the ocean currents that run toward the 
entrance of California, even if winds favorable to navigation 
should fail, one can within a month at the most succeed in 
landing in the Bay of San Bernabe, which is at Cape San Lucas 
and the extremity of California, the point best fitted for the 
first settlement. 

XV. 

After a landing is made in the Bay of San Bernabe, effort 
should be made at once to establish the camp in the place that 
seems most convenient ; and it should be of such a style and 
plan as that some of the houses may serve as a guard and pro- 
tection to the others. First of all a church should be built, 
in order that there the priests may celebrate mass every day ; 
and it would be very holy and well if immediately on en- 
trance into this realm the general with his captains and all 
the soldiers should confess and receive the sacrament, for this 
would be a very good beginning for making the entrance in 
proper form, and for following out, with the aid and favor of 
our Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ, that which is attempted, 
namely, the pacification of the realm and the conversion of 
its inhabitants to our holy Catholic faith. 

As to the location of a stronghold to serve as a castle 
and watch-tower and as a defense in adverse chances, it 
should be a strong location, high and commanding ; and if a 
secure passage could be made from it to the sea it would 
be very advantageous as a means of receiving aid or of send- 
ing for aid by sea in case any necessity should arise. The 
Portuguese have generally done this way in the places where 
they have established themselves in India, and the observance 
of this stratagem and precaution has succeeded very well with 
them. This castle and stronghold should be stocked with 
artillery carried there for that purpose, together with other 
defenses customary in such fortresses; and in it should be 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSI6N 127 

kept the arms and supplies. Above it there should be a 
watch-tower in which there should be continually a guard 
or sentinel, in order that all coming and going to the camp 
may be carefully watched; for when in lands of heathen 
Indians, although they may have declared themselves friendly 
and peaceable, they must not be trusted much; rather, one 
must live with them and among them with great circum- 
spection, vigilance, and watchfulness, and be gracious and 
kindly, with wisdom and prudence, showing them love and 
all good treatment, regaling and giving them gratis of the 
trifles which, at his Majesty's expense, may have been taken 
for the purpose of coaxing and winning them. 

Besides these buildings, a trading house should be erected, 
whither the Indians may repair to barter with the Spaniards 
for whatever they may desire, and in order that they may 
trade and bargain among themselves ; for thereby their com- 
munication with us will be greatly facilitated and love and 
friendship thus engendered. 

From this place, with the ships, frigate, and other ves- 
sels, they can send to the land of Culiacan, 1 which is a set- 
tlement of Christians, or to the islands of Macatlan, 2 or to 
the pueblo of La Navidad, 3 to bring from there whatever may 
seem necessary both for the settlement of the land and for 
sustenance, such as cows, sheep, goats, mares, and hogs, 
which in two or four days at the most can be sent alive from 
one side to the other, as the sea lying between is about fifty 
leagues in width, and is safe and smooth. These animals 
will grow and multiply as well in this land, since it is suit- 
able for that purpose and is fertile. Likewise it will be pos- 
sible to cultivate fields of wheat and maize, and to plant 
vines and gardens, in order that sustenance may be had 
from within and it may not be necessary to carry it from 
without. The Indians can be taught and instructed to do 
the same, and will take everything well, seeing it redound 
to their advantage. 

1 See Vizcaino's diary, p. 55, above, note 6. 

2 Mazatlan. See Vizcaino's diary, p. 55, note 4. 

3 See Cabrillo diary, p. 13, note 1. 



128 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

XVI. 

Besides what is said above, the Spaniards in this place 
will be able to establish fisheries for pearls and other fish, 
of which there is abundance, to send to New Spain, to sell 
in Mexico. Very good salt-works can be established; like- 
wise they can work mines, of which there are some near by, 
as I have said in number VIII. 1 These things being settled 
with the peace, love and good will of the natives, the religious 
will give their attention to their ministry, and make a begin- 
ning and commencement of converting the Indians, in the 
way which may seem best to them, founding with great pru- 
dence and gentleness the new Christian church to be planted 
there. 

And it would be well to bring from New Spain Indian min- 
strels, with their instruments and trumpets, that the divine 
services may be celebrated with solemnity and pomp, and to 
teach the Indians of the land to sing and play. Likewise it 
would be well and proper to choose from among the Indians 
some of the brightest, selecting among the young men and 
boys such as appear the most docile, talented and capable; 
and they should be taught and instructed in the Christian 
doctrine and to read the Spanish primers, in order that along 
with the reading they may learn the Spanish language, and 
that they may learn to write and sing, and to play all the 
musical instruments; 2 because a good foundation makes the 
edifice firm, and according as care is given in this matter to 
the beginnings, so will the middle parts and the ends be good. 

It is a very easy matter, by this method, to teach the 
children our language, and they, as they grow up, will teach 
it to their companions and to their children and families, 
and in a few years all will know the Spanish language, 
which will be a very great boon ; for they will not lack min- 
isters to teach, guide, and direct them in the path leading 
to heaven and to their salvation. From here they can con- 
tinue the planting of settlements of Christians and of the 
Indians who may be scattered through the mountains, draw- 

1 The reference is to Sierra Pintada or del Enfado. See p. 114. 

2 For instruction given Indians in Spanish missions, see Father Zephyrin 
Engelhardt, Missions and Missionaries of California, I. 99-102, 123-125. 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 129 

ing them to the settlements with love, suavity, and gentle- 
ness; taking care that the Christian soldiers do not disperse 
themselves so much that the guard will be diminished and 
impaired, so that, if the Indians, instigated by the evil one, 
should try to effect some uprising or to rebel against the 
Spaniards, there may be someone who can make resistance, 
and hold them in line, and even punish their insolence if the 
case demands it. 

XVII. 

In number VIII. I told how with very little trouble it 
would be possible to explore a certain land that is near here, 
on the coast of the South Sea, called the land of Enfado, 
or Pintada. I say that I believe that it has very rich silver 
ores. This can be explored by land, for it is near, and it 
might be developed if the ores proved to be of high grade 
and easily worked; and should they be rich and profitable, 
the expense which may have been entailed by building this 
fleet and bringing it to this country might be reimbursed 
from the fifths of the silver and pearls secured belonging 
to his Majesty. And this, once established, will necessarily 
bring great profits to his Majesty and to his royal patrimony, 
and great increase to his estate, with which there can be sent 
to this realm whatever number of people may seem to be 
necessary to pacify and settle it, and the ministers necessary 
for the conversion and instruction of the natives. 

Before making the second settlement, it is well that with 
the two ships all the Mediterranean Sea of California be ex- 
plored, examining everything on the coast running from 
Culiacan to Quivira, as far as the Strait of Anian, to see what 
rivers, ports and inlets there are on it ; as well as along the 
coast encircling the realm of California, 1 until Cape Mendo- 
cino is turned, with all the rivers, ports, bays, and straits 
which there may be in its whole extent ; and to learn on 
the way where and how are settled the strangers which the 
Indians said were in the realm near there and in their lands, 
as I have mentioned above in number X., 2 and, also, to try 

1 That is, the eastern coast of the island of California. 

2 See p. 117. 



130 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

to acquire knowledge and information of what the country 
contains. 

By making this exploration with proper care and dili- 
gence it will be learned at once what there is along the sea 
and its coasts, and what people and wealth the region con- 
tains; and in what places settlements of Spaniards can be 
made, from which the religious may go to preach the Holy 
Gospel and convert souls to our holy Catholic faith. It will 
be learned, likewise, in what place and region is situated 
the Tizon River, which comes from New Mexico, how it is 
situated, what advantages it possesses, and what the distance 
is from there to the Spanish pueblos; 1 for if it is as they 
say, and as I mentioned in the last chapter of the report 
which I made of this exploration, his Majesty could order it 
settled, so that by this route supplies might be taken to the 
people of that realm. And from the settlements could be 
brought to them the necessary live stock and supplies, both 
for settling the coast and for sustenance. For it is said that 
it is no more than fifty leagues from one place to the other. 

Personally, I think it will be very well that the pacifica- 
tion of the realm of New Mexico should begin at the port 
of Tizon River, since it is said that the best and richest settle- 
ments are on that border; for near there are the Lake of 
Gold, 2 and the pueblos of the Crowned King (Rey Coro- 
nado), and many people. For the preservation of the set- 
tlement on the Tizon River it will be very important that 
opposite it, in the realm and on the coast of California, an- 
other Spanish settlement be made, that they may communi- 
cate and trade one with another, and lend aid in case of need. 
Thereby each will stimulate the other to discover new lands 
and riches, and all may enjoy very good pearl fisheries and 
mineral wealth, those of New Mexico enjoying the wealth 
from the Lake of Gold, and those of the Californias that 
from some rich mountains which are on that border or near 
it and have an abundance of rich silver ore. Both of these 
God created for the service of man, as lures, I think, so that 
in the interest of these temporal things the king, our lord, 

1 Of New Mexico. 

2 For reference to the Laguna de Oro, see the documents of the Espejo and 
Ofiate expeditions, pp. 156, 184, 186. 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 131 

might send his vassals to discover and enjoy them, and, in 
their company, friars and ministers of the Gospel to under- 
take the conversion of those natives. 

XVIII. 

Of the reports brought back by those who may go on 
the ships for this exploration, both of what they may have 
seen and what they may have heard and learned, one may 
be given to his Majesty and his Royal Council of the Indies, 
that he may provide and order what is most fitting to his 
royal service and to the aggrandizement of his royal crown. 
I think it would be a matter of great importance to all these 
western nations of his Majesty if the navigation of the Strait 
of Anian should be discovered for Spain, as well as the rich 
city of Quivira, and the position of the realm of Anian, which 
is understood to be continuous with the realms of China. 
This will be discovering here another new world, to the end 
that in all of it may be preached the Holy Gospel, and the 
conversion undertaken of the many souls throughout its 
whole extent who live without religion or knowledge of the 
true God or of his most sacred law. Since all have been 
ransomed .by the most precious blood of Our Redeemer and 
Lord Jesus Christ, it is a very great pity that they should 
be condemned for want of this light and the knowledge of 
the truth. May His most Holy Majesty, for He created them 
and died for them, grant that to so many and various nations 
of lands so remote and as yet undiscovered, knowledge be 
given of His most holy law, that they may receive and be- 
lieve it, and that by means of holy baptism their souls may 
be saved, and that they may enjoy it. 

As this realm of the Californias becomes pacified and its 
natives become converted to our holy Catholic faith, the 
Spaniards can go on settling other districts and places suitable 
for effecting the conversion of souls, and affording them profits 
and advantages ; for if the Spaniard does not see any advan- 
tage he will not be moved to do good, and these souls will 
perish without remedy if it is understood that no profit will 
be drawn from going there. But if they are lured by self- 
interest they will go on discovering new lands every day, so 



132 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

much, indeed, that it will be necessary to keep them in check 
lest the forces be weakened, as I have already observed above. 
If it should seem best to his Majesty, he can command that 
his Spaniards go by land to settle, some at the port of San 
Diego, of which I have treated in number X., and others at 
the port of Monterey, of which I have treated in number XI. ; 
for to endeavor to go by sea to settle there will be a very great 
and difficult task, on account of the head-winds that prevail 
along that coast, and because of the great difficulty of sailing 
there, as I have seen and experienced. 1 

XIX. 

As time and occasion offer themselves for dealing with the 
Indians, the Spaniards will have opportunity to learn how to 
treat them and how to conduct themselves toward them, and 
on what occasions and for what causes they may make war 
upon them, or aid the friendly Indians against their enemies 
and opponents. Of this I treated at length in a tract which I 
composed in regard to these things, entitled, " Concerning the 
method to be observed in preaching the Holy Gospel to the 
heathen Indians/ ' which is in a preceding part of this note- 
book. There I state that it is not meet that any war should 
be made upon the Indians without the counsel and consent 
of the religious whom the general, captains, and soldiers ac- 
company, in order that everything may be done with devo- 
tion and a Christian and pious heart, and the gospel preached 
with peace, suavity, quietude, love, and sweetness, as our 
Master and Redeemer Jesus Christ commands us, of which 
I treated in paragraph VII. 

It is well founded in reason and justice that, since the king 
makes this expedition at his own expense, no other than his 
own Spanish subjects should undertake it, for they are earn- 
ing their wages, and they run like faithful vassals to fulfill the 
orders and mandates given them, not departing in the least from 
them, as is the practice of Spanish soldiery everywhere ; and 
for this and other reasons, which I have set forth in the treatise 
mentioned, paragraph V., it is well that his Majesty should 

1 This suggestion forecasts the method of settling California pursued by 
the Portola and Anza expeditions, of 1769 and 1775. 



1603] REPORT OF FATHER ASCENSION 133 

make these pacifications at his own expense, and that he should 
commit them to no one else. And in order that the soldiers 
may go with subjection and obedience to their superiors, the 
Spaniards who may be sent by his Majesty on this expedition 
for the pacification and settlement of this region should be 
warned that they go not to win land or vassals for themselves, 
but for the monarchs of Castile, who send them ; for it is not 
right that his Majesty should make rewards of pueblos, or of 
Indians who are being pacified and converted to our holy 
faith, to any Spaniard, however great services he may have 
rendered his Majesty in these realms. 1 For his Majesty will 
not be able to do so with a good conscience, and it will cause 
the total ruin and destruction of all the Indians, as happened 
in the beginning, when all these realms of New Spain were 
conquered, and as was experienced in the Windward Islands 
and on the Tierra Firme, as the Bishop of Chiapa, Don Fray -- 
Bartolome de las Casas, relates and discusses at very great 
length in a treatise 2 written in regard to this point, namely, 
that it is not fitting to give the Indians in encomienda to the 
Spaniards. He proves it with great erudition, and I refer to 
it in the treatise cited in paragraph XII. 

XX. 

Our very Catholic and most Christian King Philip, king of 
Spain and supreme emperor of the Western Indies, by reason 
of the sovereign rule he exercises over them, is obliged in con- 
science and in justice, and by human and divine law, to pro- 
cure the conversion of all the Indians of the Western Indies, 
the obligation being the greater toward those realms already 
known and discovered, as is now this realm of the Californias, 
which has been treated of here ; since it is already known and 
discovered, and the people in it are known, and since it is 
known how apt and inclined they are to receive our holy 

1 Father Ascension makes it plain here as elsewhere that he favors the 
supremacy of the religious in the pacification. He clearly does not favor pro- 
prietary entradas like that of Ofiate, nor encomiendas, which were granted in New 
Mexico. 

2 The reference is to Bishop Bartolome de las Casas's Brevissima Relation de 
la Distruytion de las Indias (Seville, 1552). 



134 CALIFORNIA: VIZCAINO EXPEDITION [1603 

Catholic faith. And here I have discussed the manner by 
which his Majesty will be able at very little cost to send peo- 
ple to pacify this realm and to preach the Gospel to the na- 
tives, to convert them to our holy faith. 

This obligation of his Majesty to hasten to the conversion 
of these souls, devoting to it all care, solicitude, and diligence, 
even if it be at a great expense to his royal estate, is treated of 
by the Bishop of Chiapa, Don Fray Bartolome de las Casas, in 
a book 1 entitled "A Treatise proving the sovereign empire and 
universal principate which the monarchs of Castile and Leon 
hold over the Indies," to which I refer in the treatise cited, 
paragraph I. This being granted, I do not know what secu- 
rity his Majesty can have in his conscience for delaying so long 
to send ministers of the Gospel to this realm of the Calif ornias. 
By coming to their aid, conscience will be satisfied and obliga- 
tion fulfilled. It can be done with ease and little cost, and 
the result will be the winning of so many souls for God, while 
to his Majesty will follow increased rewards in heaven, and 
on earth the lordship over a new world and infinite riches. 
May God our Lord dispose his mind so to lend aid as will 
please Him best. Amen. 

Written in the convent of San Sebastian, of the Order of 
Discalced Carmelites, in the City of Mexico, on the 12th of 
October of the year 1620. And to give it greater credence I 
signed it with my name. 

Fray Antonio de la Ascension. 

1 The reference is evidently to Las Casas's Treynte Proposiciones muy juri- 
dical, etc. (Seville, 1552). 



II. EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT 
IN NEW MEXICO AND IN ADJA- 
CENT REGIONS, 1581-1605 

1. THE RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION, 1581 



INTRODUCTION 

The renewed activities on the Pacific coast at the turn 
of the century, as exemplified by the two expeditions of 
Vizcaino, were preceded and stimulated by a new advance 
into the northern interior. Coronado's expedition into New 
Mexico had proved disappointing and for nearly four decades 
no further explorations were made in the region, according to 
the present state of our knowledge. Nevertheless, during that 
time the frontier of settlement was pushed rapidly northward, 
and a new line of approach to New Mexico was opened by 
way of the great central plateau. In the forward moving 
column were explorers, missionaries, miners, and cattlemen. 
Zacatecas was founded in 1548, Durango in 1563, and with the 
opening of the mines of Santa Barbara, Parral, San Bartolome, 
and other places in their vicinity, before 1580, the frontier of 
settlement reached the head of the Conchos River. It was 
this stream which furnished the new avenue of approach to 
New Mexico. 

The military frontier had proceeded even further, for, in 
pursuit of marauding Indians, as well as in search of mines 
and slaves, the frontier garrisons had made many forays to 
the interior beyond Santa Barbara. In this way they had 
heard new reports of the Pueblo region, which had never been 
forgotten. About 1579 an Indian captured during one of 
these raids told at Santa Barbara of a country to the north 
where there were large settlements of people who raised cotton 
for clothing, and had a plentiful food supply. Upon hear- 

137 



138 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION 

ing this report, Fray Agustin Rodriguez, a Franciscan lay 
brother, stationed at San Bartolome, began to plan with some 
of the soldiers to make an expedition to the region thus de- 
scribed. Fray Agustin went to Mexico to get permission from 
the viceroy, and the outcome was the expedition narrated in 
the documents which follow. 

The party comprised three friars, nine soldiers, and some 
sixteen Indian servants. Fray Agustin Rodriguez, the or- 
ganizer of the enterprise, was a native of Niebla, Spain. Fray 
Francisco Lopez, who went as superior to the missionaries, 
was an Andalusian. The third friar, Juan de Santa Maria, 
was a Catalan, versed in astrology. The commander of the 
soldiers was Francisco Sanchez, commonly called Chamuscado. 
The career and calling of Hernando Gallegos, one of the fol- 
lowers of Sanchez, were typical of that far northern frontier 
and significant of the interests in whose behalf the frontier 
was being extended. He was a native of Spain, had spent 
eight years in Mexico as a prospector and soldier, and was 
among those who had made expeditions beyond the mines 
against the Indians. 

Leaving Santa Barbara on June 5, 1581, the party of about 
twenty-eight persons passed down the Conchos River to the 
Rio Grande. Following that stream for many leagues through 
a settled country and then for nineteen or twenty days through 
a desert, they reached the first pueblos in the region of Socorro. 
From there they continued up the river, fifty leagues accord- 
ing to one witness, passing numerous pueblos on the way, to 
the Tigua towns about Bernalillo. Against the advice of the 
rest, Father Santa Maria now set out alone to report the dis- 
coveries in Mexico but was killed within a few days by the 
Maguas Indians. The rest of the party visited the salinas 
east of the Manzano Mountains, and the buffalo plains beyond 



INTRODUCTION 139 

the Pecos. West of the river they visited Acoma and Zuni. 
Leaving the other missionaries at Puaray, near the present 
Bernalillo, the soldiers returned to Nueva Vizcaya. 

The expedition had important consequences. The re- 
ports made by Bustamante and Gallegos in Mexico in May, 
15S2. greatly interested the viceroy, and he thought at once 
of sending out another expedition, to aid the missionaries if 
they were still alive, and to explore in any case. News re- 
ceived later that Father Lopez had been killed at Puaray 
somewhat changed his plans but did not lessen his interest. 
Rodrigo del Rio de Losa, lieutenant-captain-general of Nueva 
Galicia. of whom the viceroy sought advice, now recommended 
an expedition of three hundred men, equipped to overawe the 
natives, settle New Mexico, explore and occupy the country 
beyond Quivira. and build two vessels on the northern strait 
if it should be reached. The men were to serve without pay, 
but were to be rewarded with titles of nobility, encomiendas, 
haciendas, and exemption from taxation. Truly the journey 
of Father Rodriguez had stirred up large ideas. When the 
matter was reported to the king he immediately ordered a 
contract made for the proposed undertaking. 

The principal published sources of information regarding 
the Rodriguez expedition are those printed hereinafter. In 
addition, there is a declaration by Hernando Gallegos, made 
before the viceroy on May 16, 15S2, at the time when Bus- 
tamante gave his testimony. It is so nearly identical with 
that of Bustamante that it is not included here, but all essen- 
tial variations are indicated in the foot-notes to Bustamante's 
statement. All of these documents are published in Spanish 
in Pacheco and Cardenas, Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos, 
XV. SO-150, under the title "Testimonio dado en Mejico 
sobre el descubrimiento de doscientas leguas adelante, de las 



140 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION 

minas de Santa Barbola, Gobernacion de Diego de Ibarra; 
cuyo descubrimiento se hizo en virtud de cierta licencia que 
pidio Fr. Agustin Rodriguez y otros religiosos franciscos: 
Acompanan Relaciones de este descubrimiento y otros docu- 
mentos (Alios de 1582 y 1583)." This collection covers both 
the Rodriguez and the Espejo expeditions. The originals are 
in the Archivo de Indias at Seville, Patronato, est. 1, caj. 1. 
Two documents in the collection (pp. 137-146) not reproduced 
here are the opinions of Rodrigo del Rio referred to above. 
The "Relacion Breve" of Escalante and Barrando (the same as 
Barrado) is also printed in Spanish in the Cartas de Indias 
(pp. 230-233), published at Madrid in 1877 by the Ministerio 
de Fomento of Spain. So far as the editor is informed, none 
of these documents have hitherto been published in English. 
Some additional information regarding the Rodriguez expedi- 
tion is contained in the documents of the Espejo journey (see 
post). Bancroft, in his Arizona and New Mexico (pp. 79-80), 
gives extensive notes concerning accounts of the expedition 
in the older Spanish works. 

Two manuscript accounts of the greatest importance have 
recently come to light and will add much to our present knowl- 
edge of the Rodriguez expedition. They are: (1) Hernan 
Gallegos, "Relacion y concudio de el viage y subseso que 
Francisco Sanchez Chamuscado con ocho soldados sus com- 
paneros hizo en el descubrimiento del Nuevo Mexico en Junio 
de 1581" (Archivo General de Indias, Patronato, 1-1-3/22). 
Gallegos was a member of the Rodriguez party. In his de- 
claration (Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 88-95) he states that he has 
"made a book, written by his hand, wherein he gives an 
account of all this journey which he has made, and which he 
has delivered to His Excellency." The "Relacion" noted 
above is doubtless the same. (2) Baltasdx de Obregon, " Cro- 



INTRODUCTION 141 

nica comentario 6 relaciones de los descubrimientos antiguos 
y modernos de N.E. y del Nuevo Mexico," 1584 (Archivo 
General de Indias, Patronato, 1-1-3/22). Obregon had been 
a member of the Ibarra exploring expedition, and had secured 
first-hand information regarding the Rodriguez and Espejo ex- 
peditions. The purpose of his Relation was to offer his ser- 
vices for further exploration and conquest in New Mexico. 1 

1 Copies of these two manuscripts are in the Edward E. Ayer Collection in 
the Newberry Library, Chicago, and have been used by the editor. 



DECLARATION OF PEDRO DE BUSTAMANTE, 

1582i 

In the City of Mexico, New Spain, on the 16th day of 
the month of May, 1582, his Excellency Senor Don Lorenso 
Suarez de Mendoza, Count of Coruiia, viceroy, governor and 
captain-general for his Majesty in this New Spain, and presi- 
dent of the Royal Audiencia which is located there, etc., said 
that, having been informed by Fray Agustin Rodriguez, of 
the order of San Francisco, and other religious of that order, 
that they desired to go to preach the gospel beyond the mines 
of Santa Barbola 2 and the government of Diego de Ibarra 3 , 
in a certain new land which they heard must be a place where 
they could obtain very fruitful results, he gave them permis- 
sion in the name of his Majesty to go to discover said land 
and the people who might be in it ; and that for the safety 
of their persons, and in order that thereby they might be 
able to preach the gospel, he granted that as many as twenty 
men might go with them. And it appears that, conforming 
to said permit, these religious and eight 4 of the said men 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col Doc. Ined., XV. 80-88. 

2 Santa Barbara is a mining town in Chihuahua, near the southern boundary 
of the state. It was founded about 1563 by Rodrigo del Rio de Losa, under the 
direction of Francisco de Ibarra, founder of Nueva Vizcaya (Bancroft, North 
Mexican States, I. 106). 

3 Diego de Ibarra was evidently the successor of Francisco de Ibarra. In 
1576 the Licenciate Ibarra was sent from Spain to take the place of his brother, 
Francisco, as governor of Nueva Vizcaya. On October, 1576, the viceroy wrote 
to the king: "Dize V.M. quen lugar de Francisco de Ybarra, governador que 
fue de la Nueva Vizcaya, a hecho V.M. merced de proveer al licenciado Ibarra, 
su hermano, y que vendria en esta flota." (Cartas de Indias, p. 325 ; see also Ban- 
croft, North Mexican States, I. 112). 

4 Evidently there were eight men besides the leader, Francisco Sanchez 
Chamuscado. The "Relacion Breve y Verdadera," by Escalante and Barrado 
(Barrando), translated hereinafter, gives the number as nine, and Bancroft was 
able to find the names of nine. See pp. 138, 168. 

142 



1581-1582] DECLARATION OF BUSTAMANTE 143 

set forth; and yesterday, the 15th of the present month, 
there came to this city two of the men who accompanied 
the said religious, who report that they discovered and ex- 
plored, two hundred leagues beyond the said mines of Santa 
Barbola, which are within the government of Diego de Ibarra, 
a land thickly settled with pueblos of Indians who wear clothes 
and who live in a civilized way like the people of this New 
Spain, and that they had learned that beyond was much more 
land, settled by many pueblos of civilized people. In order 
to learn the facts in the case, he ordered taken the sworn 
testimony of these two men, who, as has been said, have 
come out and come to this city; all of which was done in 
the following manner : 

At once oath was administered to and sworn in due form, 
in the name of God and Holy Mary, and with a sign of the 
cross, by Pedro de Bustamante, who is one of the said two 
men who came to this city. Under this oath he promised to 
tell the truth, and after he had taken it the following questions 
were asked him : 

He was asked his name and his birthplace, and he replied 
that his name was Pedro de Bustamante, and that he was 
a native of a pueblo called Carancejas, of La Montana del 
Valle de Cavezon, near the Villa de Santillana. 

He was asked how long since he had come to this New 
Spain, and he replied that it was some ten years, more or 
less. 

He was asked what had been his occupation since coming 
to this New Spain, and he said that the first three years he 
spent in prospecting for mines, and that the remaining seven 
he had been a soldier serving his Majesty in the government 
of Diego de Ibarra. 

He was asked if he was one of the eight soldiers who had 
accompanied Fray Agustin Rodriguez, of the Order of San 
Francisco, and the other religious 1 who went with him ; and 
who had solicited his services for the said journey; and 
with what object and purpose he had gone. He answered 
that it was true that he was one of those who accompanied 
the said religious, and that what particularly influenced him 
to make the journey with them was his desire to serve our 

1 The names of the other friars are given on p. 138. 



144 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

Lord and his Majesty ; that no one persuaded him to do so, 
but, on the contrary, with the desire already stated, he and 
the said religious had planned for more than two years to 
go on the journey, and that he had tried to enlist the others 
who went. 

He was asked, since he said that for more than two years 
he was talking of and planning to make the journey, what 
information he had of the country leading him to believe 
that it was worth while; and he replied that the reason 
why they planned the journey was because an Indian 1 had 
told him that beyond the government of Diego de Ibarra 
there was a certain settlement of Indians who had cotton, and 
made cloth with which they clothed themselves; and that 
besides he was influenced by hearing of the account given 
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Baca, 2 in a book which he wrote 
regarding a journey that he made coming from Florida to this 
New Spain. 

Being asked what authority he and the rest who went 
with him had for making the journey ; and how they provided 
themselves with arms, horses, and the other necessary equip- 
ment which they carried to make it, and what servants 
they had, he said that the journey having been decided and 
agreed upon between the witness, his companions, and the 
religious, they equipped and provided themselves with arms 
for their persons, that is, coats of mail, arquebuses, armored 
horses, and an Indian servant apiece, while the friars took 
seven Indians from the mines of Santa Barbola, amongst 
whom was a half-breed. 

Being asked what route they took, having set out from 
the mines of Santa Barbola and the journey having been 

1 Gallegos says that he "had made, together with leaders and captains named 
for this purpose, many journeys into the interior beyond Santa Barbola in pur- 
suit of thieving Indians," and that through an Indian captured in an expedition 
he had learned of the country beyond. He states also that for two years he had 
discussed the matter with Fray Agustin and Francisco Sanchez (Chamuscado), 
and that together they had persuaded the others to go. Thus it is not quite clear 
who played the leading part in organizing the party (Declaration of Hernando 
Gallegos, in Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 88-89). 

2 Gallegos puts it somewhat differently, saying that they were guided {guian- 
dose) by the relation of Cabeza de Vaca. He perhaps means that they were 
guided by it in forming their opinion {ibid., p. 89). 



1581-1582] DECLARATION OF BUSTAMANTE 145 

begun, and through what pueblos and provinces they passed, 
he replied that on the 6th of June 1 of last year, 1581, he, 
his companions, and the religious set out from the valley 
of San Gregorio, 2 of the jurisdiction of Santa Barbola, Nueva 
Vizcaya, and went down the same valley until they came to 
the river called Concha, 3 where they found a little settle- 
ment of the wild 4 Indians, who were naked and lived on 
roots and other things found in the fields; and following 
down the river, they came to another to which they gave the 
name of the Guadalquivir, 5 because it was large and carried 
an abundance of water. On this river they found other 
Indians of different nation and tongue from those of the 
Concha, although they too are naked like the latter. These 
and the others received them peacefully, and willingly of- 
fered them of what they had, and when inquiry was made 
of them as to whether there were more settlements beyond, 
they said yes, and that they were a people naked like them- 
selves, and hostile to and at war with them. 

And so they continued up the same river for twenty 
days, 6 through eighty leagues of uninhabited country, until 
they came to a settlement to which they gave the name of 
the province of Sant Felipe. 7 There they found a permanent 

1 It will be seen by comparing these documents that the expedition left 
Santa Barbara on the 5th, and San Gregorio on the 6th. See post, p. 154. Bancroft 
and those who follow him give the 6th as the date of leaving San Bartolome 
(Bancroft, Arizona and New Mexico, p. 76 ; Twitchell, Leading Facts of New Mexi- 
can History, I. 256). 

2 San Gregorio is in the valley of a small stream running northeastward 
from Santa Barbara to the Rio Florido, the main southern branch of the Conchos 
River. The route evidently was directly northeastward to the neighborhood 
of the present Jimenez. 

3 The Conchos River. It heads in southern Chihuahua and flows north- 
eastward into the Rio Grande at Ojinaga, Chihuahua. 

4 Chichimeco, at first applied to a single wild tribe of Indians of central 
Mexico, came to be a generic term for the wild tribes, as opposed to the settled 
and more civilized tribes. 

5 In honor, of course, of the Guadalquivir River of Spain. 

6 The account of Escalante and Barrado (Barrando) given later, says nine- 
teen days. Gallegos says twenty days. 

7 Bancroft located San Felipe in the Socorro region, which Coronado had 
visited {Arizona and New Mexico, pp. 76, 77) ; Twitchell identifies it, a little more 
exactly, with San Marcial, the Piro village named Tre-na-quel, visited by Coro- 
nado's men, in 1542 (Leading Facts of New Mexican History, I. 256). 



146 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

pueblo with houses two stories high and of good appearance, 
built of mud walls and white inside, the people being dressed 
in cotton mantas with shirts of the same. They learned that 
away from the river on both sides there were many other 
pueblos of Indians of the same nation, who also received 
them peacefully and gave them of what they had, namely, 
maize, gourds, beans, chickens, and other things, which is 
what they live upon. Inquiry being made as to whether 
there were more settlements of people, by signs the natives 
replied in the affirmative. 

With this information they passed on up the same river, 
and found many pueblos along the road they travelled, as 
well as others off to the sides, which were to be seen from 
the road; and they came to another nation of Indians of 
different tongue and dress, where they were also received 
peacefully and gladly by the Indians, who kissed the hands 
of the religious. These Indians are also clothed 1 and have 
three-story houses, whitewashed and painted inside; and 
they plant many fields of maize, beans, and gourds, and 
raise many chickens. 

From there they passed on to another nation, 2 dwelling 
further up the same river. These were the finest people of 
all they had met, possessing better pueblos and houses, and 
were the ones who treated them best, giving them the most 
generously of whatever they had. They have well-built 
houses of four and five stories, 3 with corridors and rooms 
twenty-four feet long and thirteen feet wide, whitewashed 
and painted. They have very good plazas, and leading from 
one to the other there are streets along which they pass in 
good order. Like the others, they have a good supply of 
provisions. Two or three leagues distant are other pueblos 
of the same nation, and consisting of three or four hundred 

1 Gallegos says "dressed in cotton cloth and shirts." 

2 Probably the Puaray mentioned farther along in the narrative. Puaray 
was the principal pueblo of the province of Tiguex in Coronado's time. Its ruins 
have been located by Bandelier opposite Bernalillo (A. F. Bandelier, Final Report, 
II. 226; Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, II. 313). For new light on the 
location of Puaray, see Charles W. Hackett, "The Location of the Tigua 
Pueblos of Alameda, Puaray, and Sandia in 1680-1681," in Old Santa Fe, II. 
381-391. 

3 Gallegos says "four, five, and six stories." 



1581-1582] DECLARATION OF BUSTAMANTE 147 

houses, built in the same fashion. They dress in cotton like 
the foregoing nations. 

He said that up to this point they had always been trav- 
elling north. Leaving the river one day's journey and con- 
tinuing north, they saw a large pueblo of four or five hun- 
dred dwellings, more or less. On reaching it they saw that 
the houses of the Indians were of four or five stories, and they 
named it Tlascala, 1 because it was so large. They were re- 
ceived peacefully there, as they had been in the other pueblos. 
There they were informed by the natives themselves that there 
was a very large settlement of Indians ten days' journey in 
the same northerly direction which they were following ; but 
because of a lack of shoes for the horses and of clothing for 
himself and the rest of the men, they did not dare to go far- 
ther, but returned over the same road by which they had 
gone. From one of the pueblos which they had passed through 
and had named Castildavid, they crossed the river to the 
south, 2 following along a small river 3 which joined the other, 
and went to see three pueblos of which they had heard. The 
first two of them had as many as two hundred dwellings and 
the other as many as seventy. 4 In this last pueblo they 
learned of eleven others, further up the river, of a different 
nation and tongue from these. To the valley where the three 
pueblos were they gave the name of Valleviciosa. 5 They did 
not go to see them [the eleven] because they wished to go to 
find the cows which they had been informed existed in large 
numbers some thirty leagues distant, more or less. 

Accordingly, they went in search of them, travelling the 
said thirty leagues in a roundabout course, because the guide 

1 This may have been northwest of Bernalillo, in the Xemes River valley. 
Gallegos says: "They named it Tlaxcala because of its size and because it re- 
sembled the city of Tlaxcala" (Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 92). The allusion is to Tlas- 
cala, an important city in Mexico east of the capital. During the conquest it 
gave stubborn resistance to Cortes, but later became a firm ally of the Spaniards. 

2 "South" here probably means "west." 
8 This was probably the Jemez River. 

4 Gallegos says "about seventy or eighty." 

6 Gallegos is directly in conflict with Bustamante here, stating that "Valle 
Viciosa" was the name given to the valley of the eleven pueblos of which they 
had heard, instead of that of the three where they were (Col. Doc. Ined., 
XV. 92). 



148 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

who conducted them took them that way, which appeared 
different from the route described to them by the natives, for 
if they had gone by a direct road they would have arrived 
more quickly. Reaching some plains and water-holes, which 
they gave the name Los Llanos de San Francisco and Aguas 
Zarcas, they saw many herds of cows that come there to drink. 
They go in herds of two and three hundred ; they are hump- 
backed, shaggy, small-horned, thick set, and low of body. 
There they found a rancheria of naked Indians of a different 
nation from those they had left behind, going to kill cattle 
for their food. They carried their provisions of maize and 
dates 1 loaded on dogs which they raise for this purpose. 
This witness and his companions killed with their arquebuses 
as many as forty cattle, made jerked beef, and returned to 
the settlement whence they had set out. 

From there they returned down the river through the same 
country they had traversed, until they came to a pueblo called 
Puaray. 2 Here they heard of a certain valley and settlement 
of a different tongue, called Valle de Cami, south of the river. 3 
On hearing this news they went forth and reached the said 
valley, where they found six pueblos of thirty, forty, and even 
one hundred houses, with many Indians clothed in the same 

1 The word is ddtil, which means the fruit of the common date palm. 

2 See note 2, p. 146, above. According to Gallegos's "Relacion" and Obregon's 
"Cronica," Father Santa Maria set out from the Province of San Felipe alone 
and against advice to tell in Mexico the news of the discoveries. He was killed 
shortly afterward by wandering people of the Sierra Morena, but the others did 
not hear of his death till they returned from the buffalo plains. On September 
28 they left Pueblo de Malpartida to go to the buffalo; on October 10 they 
reached Valle de San Francisco, and on the 19th set out to return. Reaching 
the Rio Grande they set up camp at Pueblo de Piedra y Taques, where they de- 
manded provisions with threats of force. They now heard of Father Santa 
Maria's death, but tried to conceal it, lest they be considered vulnerable. An 
Indian attack was threatened, and they moved to Pueblo de Mai Puesto, where 
the Indians killed three of their horses. Three Indians were captured and sen- 
tenced by Chamuscado to be hanged, but the missionaries interfered. During 
the remainder of their explorations the party was constantly in danger. When 
the soldiers set out to return they left horses, goats, merchandise, and ornaments 
with the missionaries at Puaray. It was for these things, says Obregon, that the 
Indians killed them. 

3 "South" here means "west." Gallegos (Relacion) mentions both Acoma 
and Zufii as pueblos visited. 



1581-1582] DECLARATION OF BUSTAMANTE 149 

manner as the others, 1 the houses being of two and three 
stories and built of stone. While there they told them of the 
Valle de Asay, 2 where there were five large pueblos with many 
people. According to the signs which the Indians made, 
they understood that two of the pueblos were very large, 
and that in all of them large quantities of cotton were raised, 
more than in any other place which they had seen. 

But, owing to a snowfall, 3 they could not go forward and 
were forced to return to the said pueblo of Puaray, whence 
they had set out. Learning there of some salines lying four- 
teen leagues from the said pueblo, they went to see them and 
found that they were behind a mountain range which they 
named Sierra Morena. 4 They are the best that have been 
discovered up to the present, and extend, in the opinion of 
this witness and the rest, five leagues. They provided them- 
selves with what they needed, and of it brought to his Excel- 
lency the quantity which he has seen. 5 Near these salines 
were seen many other pueblos, which they visited. They 
had the same appearance as the others. The natives informed 
them of three other pueblos, which they represented as being 6 
near these salines and very large. 

From here they returned to the pueblo of Puaray, where 
they had left the religious, the horses, and the rest of the 
things which they possessed, and from this pueblo they re- 
turned along the same route by which they had gone. In 
the said pueblo the religious remained with the Indian ser- 
vants whom they had taken, among them being a half-breed. 7 
This witness and the rest of the soldiers returned with their 
leader to Santa Barbola, whence they had set out with the com- 

1 Gallegos says "dressed in shirts, cotton blankets, and hide shoes with 
soles" (Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 93). 

2 Gallegos says "Osay." Bandelier was of the opinion, and I concur in it, 
that Cami was Zuni (Final Report, II. 228). In that case Osay, or Asay, might 
have been Oraibi, one of the Moqui pueblos. 

3 Gallegos adds that it was now December. 

4 The Sierra Morena was evidently the Manzano Mountains, east of which 
lie extensive salines (Bandelier, Final Report, II. 253-254). 

5 Gallegos says the viceroy was pleased with the samples (Col. Doc. Ined., 
XV. 94). 

6 Bigurificaban. 

7 Gallegos tells us that his name was Juan Bautista (Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 94). 



150 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

mission of his Excellency, and came to report to him what they 
had seen and discovered. 

He said that in the course of the journey, in some pueblos, 
they found and explored five 1 mine prospects which appeared 
to them good, but because they did not go prepared they did 
not assay them ; nor did they dare to bring any Indians from 
those parts, although they attempted to do so through kind- 
ness and the promise of gifts, but the Indians would not agree 
to it, 2 and they did not dare to use force lest they should anger 
them. He said that besides the aforesaid mine prospects, 
they told them of many others, and that this is the truth by 
the oath he has taken ; and he approved, ratified, and signed 
it in his name. 3 He said that he was thirty-four years of age, 
and that their leader, named Francisco Sanches Chamuscado, 
died 4 thirty leagues from Santa Barbola while coming hither 
with this witness and Hernan Gallegos, his companion, to re- 
port what they had seen. — Pedro de Bustamante. Before 
me, Juan de Cueva. 5 

1 Escalante says that eleven mines were discovered (see p. 157, post). Ga- 
llegos says that besides those discovered, many more, rich in silver, were heard 
of (Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 95). 

2 Gallegos says that the Indians refused to mount the horses (ibid.). 

3 Gallegos adds (ibid.) that the distance from Mexico City to the country 
discovered was four hundred leagues, mainly over level road, passable for men on 
horseback, with pack trains, or with carts. 

4 On the way back from New Mexico Chamuscado, who was more than sixty 
years old, fell ill. He was bled, and long halts were made to give him rest. As 
he got no better, he was carried between two horses on a litter made of poles 
cut with sabres, and of thongs from the hide of a horse killed for the purpose. 
Thirty leagues before reaching Santa Barbara he died (Gallegos's Relation, cap. 
XV). 

6 The declaration of Hernando Gallegos which follows here in the Coleccion, 
pp. 88-95, is omitted, since it is nearly identical with the foregoing deposition. 






DECLARATION OF HERNANDO BARRADO, 

1582. 1 

After the foregoing, in the said city of Mexico, on the 
20th day of the month of October, 1582, the said Senor Viceroy 
stated that whereas he was informed that the Indians who 
were discovered in this new land had killed the religious who 
had remained with them to teach and instruct them in matters 
pertaining to the holy Catholic faith, in order that his Majesty 
might be informed of everything he ordered that new testi- 
mony relative thereto be obtained ; and to this end oath was 
administered in legal form to Hernando Barrado, a Spaniard 
who, it is said, went to the new land with the other soldiers 
who went to it. He took the oath in the name of God our 
Lord and of Holy Mary His Mother, making the sign of the 
cross with his right hand, under charge of which he promised 
to tell the truth. 

And being asked in regard to the foregoing, this witness 
said that what he knows of the matter is that he is one of the 
eight soldiers who went into the interior with the leader, 
Francisco Sanchez Chamuscado, in company with Fray Agus- 
tin Rodriguez, of the order of San Francisco, and two other 
religious ; that they succeeded in seeing all the settlements of 
the Indians which are referred to in the declaration of the two 
soldiers, 2 his companions, which has been shown to him ; and 
that he knows that what they said and declared about the 
matter is the truth, and so happened, because he was a witness 
to it all. 

At the time when this witness went into the interior, he 
took in his service an Indian named Geronimo, of the Concho 
nation, from near Santa Barbola, of the kingdom of Nueva 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 95-97. 

2 The reference is to the declarations by Bustamante and Gallegos. See 
pp. 139, 142-149. 

151 



152 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

Vizcaya, and when they agreed with the said leader and the 
other companions to return to this New Spain to report what 
they had seen and discovered, the said Indian, with two others, 
called Francisco and Andres, and a mestizo and some Indian 
boys, remained voluntarily with the religious in the settle- 
ment which they call Puaray. And after having returned to 
Santa Barbola, of the said kingdom of Nueva Galicia [sic], 
this witness being in the convent of the said pueblo, some 
three months ago, he saw there the said Francisco, one of the 
Indians who had remained with the religious. Being sur- 
prised at this, he spoke to him, and asked him how he hap- 
pened to be there, and to have returned from the new land 
where he had left him. He replied that the Indians of that 
land of Puaray had killed Fray Francisco Lopez, the guardian, 
and that he had seen him buried. On telling Fray Agustin, 
his companion, of it, they became excited, and without waiting 
to see more he and the other two Indians, Andres and Gero- 
nimo, came away, through the Concho country, coming round- 
about by almost the same route as they had gone. When 
they came away they heard many outcries and a tumult in 
the pueblo, wherefore he believed that they had killed 1 the 
rest of the religious and the Indian boys who remained there 
and had been unable to come with them. The one of his 
companions called Andres had been killed by certain Indians 
in a settlement which they came upon between those of the 
Concho nation and the Tatarabueyes, 2 and only the Indian 
Geronimo, who had been a servant of this witness, had escaped 
with him. 

And this witness, coming afterwards through the mines 
of Zacatecas, came across the said Indian Geronimo, who was 
being brought to this city by the other soldiers, companions of 
this witness ; and he talked with him, and learned the same 
as what the other Indian, Francisco, had told him. From the 
said mines they all came together to this city of Mexico, and 
the said Indian saw his Excellency and spoke with him. A 

1 For the different versions of the death of the missionaries, see Bancroft, 
Arizona and New Mexico, p. 79, note 7; Bandelier, Final Report, II. 227-228. 
See also p. 148, note 2, and p. 168, note 3. 

2 The Patarabueyes, or Jumanos, who lived on the Rio Grande near the 
junction with the Conchos River. See p. 172, below. 



1581-1582] DECLARATION OF BARRADO 153 

few days ago he disappeared, and the witness has not seen 
him since, but he understands that he has returned to his own 
country. He says that this is the truth by the oath he has 
taken ; and he affirmed, ratified, and signed it. He said he 
was more than fifty years old. — Hernando Barrado. Before 
me, Juan de Cueva. Copied and compared with the original 
which is in my possession. Joan de Cueva. There is a 
rubric. 



BRIEF AND TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE EXPLORATION 
OF NEW MEXICO, 1583 1 

Brief and true Account of the Exploration of New Mexico, which 
we Nine 2 Companions explored, when we went from Santa 
Balbola in company with three Religious of the Order of 
Saint Francis. 

We, the said nine companions, set out from Santa Bal- 
bola to undertake our journey, our sole object being to serve 
God our Lord and his Majesty, by establishing the Holy 
Gospel wherever we might find a suitable place and wherever 
the Divine Majesty might guide us. We left on the 5th of 
June, 3 1581, and travelled thirty-one days 4 from the time 
when we departed from Santa Balbola through a country of 
naked barbarian people. They are very poor and have noth- 
ing to eat except roots and prickly pears. Continuing our 
journey from here, we left this people and travelled nine- 
teen 5 days with great hardship and disappointments, and 
without being able to see an}^ people or any living thing. 
At the end of that time, on the eve of the feast of the As- 
sumption of Our Lady, 6 our Lord was pleased to show us a 
naked Indian. We asked him by signs where maize could 
be found, and he replied that one day's journey from there 
we should find it in plenty. This information was obtained 
by showing him two or three kernels of maize. He said there 
was a great quantity, and told us that the natives were dressed 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 146-150. 

2 This is one of the evidences that there were eight men besides the leader, 
Francisco Sanchez Chamuscado. See p. 142, note 4. 

3 The other documents give June 6 as the date of leaving Valle de San 
Gregorio. Some secondary authorities have failed to note the full evidence of 
the documents on this point. 

4 This passage is our source for the time spent in reaching the Rio Grande. 
6 Bustamante and Gallegos say twenty. See p. 145. 

6 Nuestra Senora de Agosto, day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, August 15. 

154 






1581-1582] NARRATIVE OF ESCALANTE AND BARRADO 155 

in clothing the color of our shirts, and that they had houses. 
All this was by gestures and by signs which he made upon 
the ground. 

This pleased us greatly, for already we were in need of 
provisions, and we kept the Indian for three days, so that 
he might take us where he said. He did so and we found all 
to be true as he had stated, for on August 21 x we discov- 
ered a pueblo of forty-five houses of two and three stories. 2 
We also found great fields of maize, beans, and gourds, whereat 
we gave thanks to our Lord for having provided us with sup- 
plies. We all entered into the said pueblo, well equipped, 
ready for war in case it should be necessary. That, however, 
was not our intention, for we were guided only by peace and 
love, and by a desire to bring the natives to the fold of our 
holy Catholic faith. In our midst we took three religious, 
bearing crosses in their hands and around their necks. Thus 
we entered into the pueblo, but we found no one there, 3 for 
they had not dared to wait for us, not knowing what we 
were, as our entrance was made upon armored horses. Seeing 
this, we immediately left the pueblo, travelling through fields 
of maize for about half a league, when we discovered five 
more pueblos. In the open we pitched our camp and agreed 
not to go on until we had won over those natives and made 
friends of them. At the end of two days a cacique came with 
three Indians to see who we were, and by signs we saluted 
one another. They came near to us and we gave them iron 
hawk's bells, playing cards, and other trinkets, and thus 
made them friends. They went and summoned the rest of 
the people, who came in great numbers to see us, saying to 
each other that we were children of the Sun. They gave us 
maize, beans, gourds, cotton manias (blankets), and tanned 
cowhides. We remained four days in their midst, and in 
that space of time we learned from them, through signs, that 
beyond as well as to the sides there were great numbers of 
pueblos. 

1 Bancroft calls attention to the discrepancy here in dates (Arizona and New 
Mexico, p. 77, note 4). 

2 See 7, p. 145, above. 

3 Note a discrepancy between this and Bustamante's account of the re- 
ception. See p. 146. 



156 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

From there we travelled up stream for fifty leagues, 1 and 
along the river and to the sides, within the distance of about 
a day's journey, we discovered, saw, and passed sixty-one 
pueblos, all peopled with clothed natives. These pueblos 
are in good sites and on good and level land. The houses 
are close together and the plazas and streets all well arranged. 
They have turkeys, which they raise. It seemed to us all 
that the sixty-one pueblos which we saw and visited must 
contain more than one hundred and thirty thousand natives, 
all of whom wore clothes. 

In the said province there were more than as many more 
pueblos, equal to the largest, which we did not see, as we 
dared not go to them. Much cotton is raised there. Father 
Fray Bernaldino Beltran, of the Order of St. Francis, who 
went in after us, recently, ten months ago, with Antonio 
Despejo 2 and fifteen soldiers, brought the news that he had 
discovered five pueblos in the said province containing 3 more 
than fifty thousand souls. They gave them two thousand 
cotton manias. Soon afterwards they discovered eleven more 
pueblos, of many people, as they report. They informed 
them of a very large lake, 4 with many settlements and people, 
where the people travel in canoes, carrying in the prow r s large 
balls of brass color. They report that Antonio Despejo with 
eight companions is going in search of this lake. Of all this 
Father Fray Barnaldino Beltran will give complete and de- 
tailed information. 

We, the said nine companions and the three fathers, dis- 
covered also, about thirty leagues to one side of said pueblos, 
an immense number of humpbacked cows, which have on their 
shoulders humps a cubit high. These cows are found over 
a continuous space of more than two hundred leagues in 
length ; 5 the width we do not know. They are not very wild 

1 This seems to be an estimate of the whole distance travelled up the river 
within the settled district. 

2 Antonio de Espejo. Beltran went with Espejo but returned before him. 
Espejo had not yet returned when this relation was written. See post, p. 192. 

3 Moqui. See p. 186. 

4 The Laguna de Oro. See pp. 130, 184, 186. 

6 This information must have come from the Coronado expedition, or from 
reports given by the natives of New Mexico, for Chamuscado's men did not see 
two hundred leagues of buffalo plains. 






1581-1582] NARRATIVE OF ESCALANTE AND BARRADO 157 

cattle, and they run but little. Their meat is better than 
that of this country, and the cattle are larger than those of 
this country. 

We also discovered in the said country eleven 1 mine 
prospects, all having great veins of silver. From three of 
them ore was brought to this city and given to his Excel- 
lency. He sent it to the assayer of the mint to be assayed ; 
he assayed them and found one of the samples to be half sil- 
ver; another contained twenty marks per quintal, and the 
third five marks. For all this I refer you to the assayer for 
verification, for I repeat only what he stated. 

We also discovered in the said settlement a very rich sa- 
line containing a great quantity of granulated salt of good 
quality. Of it a sample was brought to his Excellency. The 
saline measures five leagues around. 2 

After stating the above I will add that we are ready and 
equipped, if his Majesty will give us permission, to go and 
settle and save so many souls which the devil holds captive, 
by teaching and instructing them berbo ad berbo, 3 as we say 
here. 

There are reports of much more wherein God our Lord 
may be served and the royal crown increased, as regards both 
vassals and royal fifths, for after the Spaniards have once 
entered into the said land, besides the mines which we have 
already discovered they will seek and discover many more, 
for the land abounds in them, as also in forests, pastures, and 
water. It is a land whose climate is a little cold, although 
not excessively so. Its temperature is like that of Castile. 
And if it is not settled soon those souls who are there will 
be in danger, and the royal crown of his Majesty will suffer 
great injury, as is patent. — Phelipe de Escalante. Her- 
nando Barrando. By order of the Illustrious Archbishop 
of Mexico, I ordered this account copied from the original, 
with which it agrees, Mexico, October 26, 1583. 4 Joan de 
Aranda. There is a rubric. 

1 Bustamante and Gallegos say five. See p. 150. 

2 Bustamante and Gallegos say five leagues in extent. See p. 149. 

3 Word for word. 

4 The date of the declaration fell between the return of Beltran and this 
date given here. 



REPORT OF THE VICEROY TO THE KING, 1583 1 

His Very Catholic and Royal Majesty : 

In November of last year, 1580, a friar named Fray Agus- 
tin Rodriguez, of the Order of San Francisco, came to me and 
told me that he desired to go to the interior to preach the 
Holy Gospel beyond the mines of Santa Barbola, which are in 
Nueva Vizcaya; and seeing his great zeal, and that it was 
reported that along the Conchas River were people where 
this good purpose might be effected, I granted him permis- 
sion to do so, and to take with him other religious, and as 
many as twenty men who might voluntarily wish to go with 
him, to protect them and as company ; and that they might 
take some things for barter ; and that the one whom the friar 
should name should go as leader, 2 whom the others should 
obey, that they might not cause disorder. I did not give 
permission for more men to go, because your Majesty had 
issued instructions that no entries or new discoveries should 
be made without express permission from your Majesty. 

They entered with as many as eight men, 3 who desired to 
go with them ; and it appears that they went along discover- 
ing some pueblos in a good country, fertile, and having a 
food supply, the people having better dress and appearance 
than those of the Conchas River. Fray Agustin Rodriguez 
decided to remain in one of them with a companion, and 
that the eight men should come to report what until then 
had been seen and discovered. I have had their depositions 
taken and am sending 4 them herewith, attested, so that your 
Majesty may see them. And Rodrigo del Rio de Losa, lieu- 
tenant-captain-general in the province of Nueva Galicia, a 
man well informed and of much experience in expeditions, 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 97-100. 

2 This is evidence that the purpose of the expedition was primarily religious. 

3 See p. 142, note 4. 

4 The text says envio, which is clearly a misprint for envio. 

158 






1581-1582] REPORT OF THE VICEROY 159 

because he was in Florida with Don Tristan de Arellano 1 
and in Nueva Vizcaya with Francisco de Ibarra, being here at 
the time, I consulted with him as to what he thought was 
necessary in order to send men to learn about the friars and 
to endeavor to obtain information about all the country, and, 
particularly, that they might report of it here ; and he gave 
me the statement which I send 2 herewith, signed by himself. 3 

While this was taking place there arrived a soldier with 
one of the Indians who had remained with the friars, who said 
that they had killed one of them in his presence, and that as 
he was fleeing hither that they might not kill him he heard 
cries and shouts in the pueblo, by which he understood that 
they must be killing the other friar. And I having consulted 
with the said Rodrigo del Rio, concerning this event also, and 
concerning what would be necessary to make a military expe- 
dition, both as to the number of men and the supplies, if your 
Majesty should deign so to order it, he made a full report, 
which is the one accompanying this, signed by himself, so that 
your Majesty may order it examined. 

From what can be gathered from the account given by 
these men, that country is densely populated and fertile; 
although they say they saw signs of mines, among the Indians 
no signs of gold or silver are found, or evidence that any metal 
has been taken out. Your Majesty will command the whole 
matter to be investigated, and will order what best suits your 
royal service, for in the meantime nothing more will be done 
in the affair. May God preserve the Very Catholic Royal 
person of your Majesty and increase your kingdoms and do- 
mains, as we the servants of your Majesty desire. 

Mexico, November 1, 1582. His very Catholic Royal 
Majesty. Your Majesty's servant kisses your Majesty's 
royal hands. The Count of Coruna. Rubric. 

[Endorsement.] On the cover is the following: "New 
Spain. To his Majesty, 1582. The viceroy, the Count of 
Coruna, November 1. Examined. Give this, with the papers 

1 See Lowery, Spanish Settlements within the Present Limits of the United 
States, 1513-1561, pp. 357-374. 

2 Envio, clearly a misprint for enmo. 

3 Del Rio's statements are printed in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. 
Ined., XV. 137-146. 



160 NEW MEXICO: RODRIGUEZ EXPEDITION [1581-1582 

referred to, to a relator. There are two rubrics. Issue a 
cedula addressed to the viceroy of New Spain, or to the per- 
son who in his place may be governing, so that, with respect 
to the exploration concerned in this letter and in the declara- 
tion and reports which he sends with it, he may make there a 
contract 1 with the person whom he may think best fitted for 
it, in conformity with the ordinances relative to the matter, 
so that the expedition may be made without any expenditure 
whatsoever from the treasury of his Majesty ; and when the 
contract is made, before any of the conditions therein agreed 
upon are put into effect, let it be forwarded to the Council, 
so that, it having been examined, what is best may be pro- 
vided for. Madrid, March 29, 1583. Licentiate Banos. 
Two rubrics. Before me, Francisco de Ledesma. Rubric." 

1 The contract was finally made with Juan de Onate. See post, p. 201. 



NEW MEXICO 
2. THE ESPEJO EXPEDITION, 1582-1583 



INTRODUCTION 

While the viceroy was discussing an expedition to New 
Mexico, more effective measures were being taken by the 
Franciscan order and a private citizen. On learning through 
the returning soldiers that the friars who went with Chamus- 
cado had been left alone in New Mexico, the Franciscans 
feared for the safety of then brethren and at once considered 
the organization of a rescue party. To lead it, Fray Bernal- 
dino Beltran, of the monastery of Durango, volunteered. 
Hearing of the project, Antonio de Espejo, a wealthy citizen 
of Mexico, who was in Nueva Vizcaya at the time, offered to 
equip and lead some soldiers as an escort, and to pay the ex- 
penses of Father Beltran. Through the efforts of the friar 
a license was secured from Captain Juan Ontiveras, alcalde 
mayor of Cuatro Cienegas, a settlement seventy leagues east 
of Santa Barbara, then in Nueva Vizcaya, but now in Coahuila. 

Enlisting fourteen or fifteen soldiers, on November 10, 
1582, the expedition was begun at San Bartolome, a place 
nine leagues east of Santa Barbara. Besides Father Beltran, 
Espejo, the soldiers, and servants, there were several other 
persons in the party, as is shown by the documents. 1 They 

ir The above account is based on the statement by Espejo, who does not 
give all the facts. The exact process by which the license was secured is not 
clear. The departure was attended by trouble and a conflict of interests. When 
the party set out on November 10 it consisted of Espejo, twelve other soldiers, 
Fray Pedro de Heredia, and Fray Bernaldino Beltran, servants, and interpreters. 
At that time Father Heredia was evidently the superior of the missionaries of the 
party and no captain had been appointed. The justicia of Santa Barbara for- 
bade their departure, but Father Heredia exhibited a license from Juan de Ibarra, 
teniente de gobernador of Nueva Vizcaya, permitting all who wished to go with 
him. The first night they were overtaken in camp by one Fray Luis with an 

163 



164 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION 

were equipped with one hundred and fifteen horses and mules. 
The start was made three or four months after news of the 
death of Father Lopez reached Santa Barbara and it can hardly 
be supposed that the report was unknown to Father Beltran 
and Espejo. Perhaps they hoped to find one at least of the 
friars still alive. No doubt Espejo at least was curious to 
see the country and regarded the journey as an opportunity 
for exploration. 

The route followed was that of the Rodriguez party, but 
the records tell us more of what they saw than do those of 
the earlier journey. Passing down the Rio Conchos, they went 
through the tribes of the Conchos, Pazaguantes, and Tobosos. 
On the Rio Grande, at the junction and for twelve days above, 
they passed through Jumano villages. Above the Jumano 
country, and apparently before reaching the river bend near 
El Paso, they encountered two tribes who lived in rancherias. 
They were probably the tribes later known as the Sumas and 
the Mansos. Next they travelled fifteen days, or eighty 
leagues, through an unsettled region. It was evidently the 
same unsettled stretch of eighty leagues reported by the 
Rodriguez party. Going twelve leagues further, passing a 
rancheria on the way, they entered the pueblo region. After 
passing for two days through a province in which they visited 
ten pueblos, seeing others at the right and left, they reached 

order from his custodio requiring Father Heredia to return, because Fray Luis, 
Fray Juan Bautista, and Fray Francisco de San Miguel were equipped for the 
journey. The soldiers insisted that Heredia should continue, since some of them 
would be ruined by the expense of the outfit if the enterprise were abandoned. 
He replied in writing that he would proceed. Fray Luis went back to San Gre- 
gorio to get his companions, and while there engaged in a quarrel with Father 
Heredia, who also returned. In the midst of it Heredia got a message from Ibarra 
asking him to await for ten or twelve days his coming with a license from Heredia's 
custodio. Thereupon Heredia sent word to the party to go ahead slowly and 
that he would overtake them. Meanwhile Miguel Sanchez Valenciano had re- 
turned to Valle de San Bartolome and got his wife, Casilda de Amaya, and three 
sons, Lazaro, Pedro, and Juan, of whom the last two were aged three and one- 
half years, and twenty months, respectively (Luxan, Entrada). 



INTRODUCTION 165 

the borders of the province of the Tiguas, and learned that 
Fathers Lopez and Rodriguez had been killed at Puaray. 

The avowed purpose of the expedition had now been ac- 
complished, but Espejo, seconded by Father Beltran, decided 
to explore the country before returning. Going two days east 
with two companions, to the province of the Maguas, adja- 
cent to the buffalo country, Espejo learned that there Father 
Santa Maria had been killed before Chamuscado left New 
Mexico. 

Returning to the Tiguas, the whole party went six leagues 
to the Quires, and then visited Sia, fourteen leagues to the 
northwest, and the Emeges (Jemez), six leagues further north- 
west. Turning southwest, they now went to Acoma, and 
thence to Zuni. At this point Father Beltran and about half 
of the party decided to return to Nueva Vizcaya. But Espejo 
and nine companions set out northward in search of a lake of 
gold said to be in that direction. He did not find the lake, 
but he visited the province of Mohoce (Moqui), and was 
given there a present of four thousand cotton blankets (man- 
tas). Sending these back to Zuni by five men, with the re- 
maining four Espejo went west in search of mines of which 
he had heard. After travelling forty-five leagues he found 
them in western Arizona, and secured rich ores. Returning 
to Zuni by a shorter and better route, he found Father Bel- 
tran and his companions still there. 

His party being increased by another of Espejo's men, 
Fray Beltrami now returned to San Bartolome; but Espejo, 
bent on further explorations, turned east again and ascended 
the Rio Grande to the Quires. Going east from there six 
leagues, he visited the Ubates, and found mineral prospects 
near by. One day from the Ubates he visited the Tanos 
pueblos, who would neither admit him nor give him food. 
In view of this hostility and of the smallness of his party,, 
Espejo now set out for home, but by a different route from 



166 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION 

that of the entrance. Going to Cicquique (Cicuye), he de- 
scended the Rio de las Vacas (Pecos) one hundred and twenty- 
leagues, over a trail followed by Alvarado forty years before. 
From here, conducted by Jumano Indians, he crossed over to 
the mouth of the Conchos. Thence he returned to SanBar- 
tolome, reaching it on September 20, 1583, nearly a year after 
setting out. Fray Beltran had preceded him by several days. 
The report brought back by Espejo of the Lake of Gold (La- 
guna de Oro) and of the mines in western Arizona played a 
large part in directing the western exploration of Onate and 
his subordinates two decades later. 

The principal published source of information regarding 
the expedition is Espejo's own account (printed hereinafter), 
written at Santa Barbara shortly after his return from New 
Mexico. This was published by Pacheco and Cardenas in 
their Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos, XV. 101-126, under the 
title "Relacion del viage, que yo Antonio Espejo, ciudadano 
de la ciudad de Mexico, natural de Cordoba, hize con catorce 
soldados y un relijioso de la orden de San Francisco, a las 
provincias y poblaciones de la Nueva Mexico, a quien puse 
por nombre, la Nueva Andalucia, a contemplacion de mi 
patria, en fin del ano de mill e quinientos e ochenta e dos." 1 
This version of the relation will be designated here as A. It 
is preceded in the Coleccion by a letter of transmittal to the 
king, dated at San Salvador, April 23, 1584. Another version 
of the relation, bearing the same title as A, is in the same vol- 
ume of the Coleccion, pp. 163-1 89. 2 This version will be re- 
ferred to as B. With it is printed (pp. 162-163) the letter of 
transmittal by Espejo to the viceroy, at the end of October, 

1 It is comprehended in the expediente entitled "Testimonio dado en Mejico," 
etc., noted on page 139, above. 

2 It is comprehended in a group of documents entitled "Expediente sobre el 
Ofrecimiento que hace Francisco Diaz de Vargas, de ir al Nuevo Mexico, y refiere 
la Historia de este Descubrimiento, con documentos que acompanan. Ano de 
1584." The originals are in the Archivo de Indias, Patronato, est. 1, caj. 1. 



INTRODUCTION 167 

1683. The two versions differ very little, but A, though of 
slightly later date, is marred by fewer misprints than the 
other, and on it the translation is therefore based. All essen- 
tial differences in B are indicated in the foot-notes. 

Other documents in the same volume of the Coleccion con- 
taining incidental information regarding the expedition are 
the Relation Breve by Escalante and Barrado (pp. 146-150), 
printed hereinbefore, pp. 154-157; the petition of Francisco 
Dias de Vargas for license to make a new expedition (pp. 126- 
137) ; the memorial of Espejo to the king, asking authority 
to settle the country he had discovered, pp. 151-162; the 
power of attorney by Espejo to Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, 
his son-in-law, Joan Garcia Bonilla, and Diego de Salas Bar- 
badillo, April 23, 1583 (pp. 189-191). So far as the editor 
knows, none of the documents have been published in English 
heretofore. 

Another relation of this expedition, still unpublished, was 
written by Diego Perez de Luxan, a member of the expedition, 
under the title, "Entrada que hizo en el Nuevo Mexico Anton 
de Espejo en el afio de 82" (A. G. de I., 1-1-3/22). A copy of 
this manuscript, which has recently come to light, is contained 
in the Ayer Collection. The "Cronica" of Obregon cited 
above also contains a detailed account of the expedition. So 
far as the editor knows, these important sources have not been 
used hitherto. 

In Mendoza's History of the Kingdom of China (trans, in 
Hakluyt Society Publications, London, 1854), II. 228-252, is 
a contemporary account of the Espejo expedition; also in 
Hakluyt, Voyages (London, 1599-1600), III. 383-396. 



ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE 
PROVINCES AND SETTLEMENTS 
OF NEW MEXICO, 1583 

Account of the Journey which I, Antonio Espejo, Citizen of the 
City of Mexico, native of the City of Cordoba, made at the 
close of the year 1582, with Fourteen Soldiers and a Relig- 
ious of the Order of San Francisco, to the Provinces and 
Settlements of New Mexico, which I named Nueva Anda- 
lucia, in Honor of my Native Land. 1 

In order that this account may be better and more easily 
understood it should be observed that in the year 1581 a friar 
of the Order of San Francisco, named Fray Agustin y Ruiz, 2 
who resided in the valley of San Bartolome, having heard 
through certain Conchos Indians who were communicating 
with the Pazaguates, that to the north there were certain un- 
discovered settlements, endeavored to obtain permission to 
go to them for the purpose of preaching the Gospel to the 
natives. Having obtained permission from his prelate and 
from the viceroy, the Count of Corufla, this friar and two 
others, named Fray Francisco Lopez and Fray Jhoan de Santa 
Maria, with seven or eight soldiers of whom Francisco Sanchez 
Chamuscado was leader, went inland in the month of June 
of 1581, through the said settlements, until they arrived at a 
province called Tiguas, situated two hundred and fifty leagues 
north of the mines of Santa Bdrbola, of the government of 
Nueva Vizcaya, where they began their journey. There 
Fray Jhoan de Santa Maria was killed, 3 and as they saw that 

iPacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined. (A), XV. 101-126; (B), ibid., 163- 
189. 

2 This name should be Rodriguez. 

3 Father Santa Maria was killed among the Maguas, as Espejo himself tells 
further on. 

168 



1582] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 169 

there were many people, and that for any purpose either of 
peace or of war they themselves were too few, the soldiers and 
their leader returned to the mines of Santa Barbola, and from 
there went to Mexico, which is one hundred and sixty leagues 
distant, to report to the viceroy, in the month of May, 1582. 

The two religious who remained, with the desire to save 
souls, believing that they were safe among the natives, did 
not wish to come away, but preferred to stay in the said prov- 
ince of the Tiguas, through which Francisco Vasquez Coronado 
long ago passed on his way to the conquest and discovery of 
the cities and plains of Cibola. 1 And thus they remained 
with three Indian boys and a half-breed, whereat the Order of 
San Francisco was greatly grieved, regarding it as certain that 
the Indians would kill the two religious 2 and those who remained 
with them. Entertaining this fear, they wished and endeav- 
ored to find someone who would enter the said land and bring 
them out and succor them. For this purpose another relig- 
ious of the same order, named Fray Bernaldino Beltran, a resi- 
dent of the monastery of the Villa of Durango, capital of 
Nueva Vizcaya, offered to make the journey, with the au- 
thority and permission of his superior. 

And as at that time it happened that I was in that juris- 
diction, and that I heard of the wise and pious desire of the 
said religious and of the entire order, and knowing that by so 
doing I would serve our Lord and his Majesty, I offered to 
accompany this religious and to spend part of my wealth in 
paying his expenses and in taking some soldiers, both for his 
protection and defense and for that of the religious whom he 
was going to succor and bring back, if the royal justice, in his 
Majesty's name, would permit or order me to do so. Accord- 
ingly, having learned of the holy zeal of the said religious and 
of my intention, and at the instance of the said Fray Bernar- 
dino, Captain Joan de Ontiveros, 3 alcalde mayor for his Maj- 

1 For references to the province of the Tiguas (Tiguex) in the report of the 
Coronado expedition, see Winship, "The Coronado Expedition," in the Four- 
teenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 1896), pp. 491, 
497, 500, 503, 519, 520, 524, 569, 575, 587, 594. 

2 This would imply that the Franciscans knew that Father Santa Maria 
had been killed before Chamuscado returned. 

3 B gives this name as "Onteveros" (p. 165). 



170 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1582 

esty in the pueblos called the Cuatro Cienegas, 1 which lie 
within the said jurisdiction of Nueva Vizcaya, seventy leagues 
east of the mines of Santa Barbola, gave his order and commis- 
sion that I, with some soldiers, should enter the new land to 
succor and bring out the religious and men who had remained 
in it. 

And so, by virtue of said order and commission, I enlisted 
fourteen soldiers, whose names are Joan Lopez de Ibarra, 
Bernardo de Luna, Diego Perez de Lujan, Gaspar de Lujan, 
Francisco Barreto, 2 Gregorio Hernandez, Miguel Sanchez 
Valenciano, Lazaro Sanchez and Miguel Sanchez Nevado, 
sons of the said Miguel Sanchez, Alonso de Miranda, Pedro 
Hernandez de Almansa, Joan Hernandez, Cristobal Sanchez, 
and Joan de Frias, all of whom, or the major part of whom, 3 
I supplied with arms, horses, munitions, provisions, and other 
things necessary for so long and unaccustomed a journey. 
Beginning our journey at Valle de San Bartolome, which is 
nine leagues from the mines of Santa Barbola, on November 
10, 1582, with one hundred and fifteen horses and mules, some 
servants, and a quantity of arms, munitions, and provisions, 
we set out directly north. 

After two days' march of five leagues each we found in 
some rancherias a large number of Indians of the Conchos 
nation, many of whom, to the number of more than a thousand, 
came out to meet us along the road we were travelling. We 
found that they live on rabbits, hares, and deer, which they 
hunt and which are abundant, and on some crops of maize, 
gourds, Castilian melons, and watermelons, like winter melons, 
which they plant and cultivate, and on fish, mascales, which 
are the leaves of lechuguilla, a plant half a vara 4 in height, the 
stalks of which have green leaves. They cook the stocks of 
this plant and make a preserve like quince jam. It is very 
sweet, and they call it mascale. 5 They go about naked, have 

1 Regarding this place see p. 163, above. 
2 B gives this name as "Barrero" (p. 166). 

3 Elsewhere Espejo says that he supplied all of them. 

4 The vara was equivalent to about thirty-three inches. 

6 The maguey plant. "The fleshy leaf bases and trunk of various species 
of agave. It was roasted in pit ovens and became a sweet and nutritious food 
among the Indians of the states on both sides of the Mexican boundary" (Walter 



1582] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 171 

grass huts for houses, use bows and arrows for arms, and have 
caciques whom they obey. We did not find that they have 
idols, nor that they offer any sacrifices. We assembled as 
many of them as we could, erected crosses for them in the 
rancherias, and by interpreters of their own tongue whom we 
had with us the meaning of the crosses and something about 
our holy Catholic faith was explained to them. They went 
with us six days beyond their rancherias, which must have 
been a journey of twenty-four leagues to the north. All this 
distance is settled by Indians of the same nation, who came 
out to receive us in peace, one cacique reporting our coming 
to another. All of them fondled us and our horses, touching 
us and the horses with their hands, and with great friendliness 
giving us some of their food. 

At the end of these six days we found another nation of 
Indians called Pazaguantes, 1 who have rancherias, huts, and 
food like the Conchos. They were dealt with as had been 
those of the Conchos nation, and they continued with us 
four days' march, which must have been fourteen leagues, 
one cacique informing another, so that they might come out 
to receive us, which they did. In places during these four 
days' travel we found many mines 2 of silver which, in the 
opinion of those who know, were rich. 

We left this nation, and on the first day's march we found 
another people called Jobosos. 3 They were shy, and therefore 
they fled from all the settlements through which we passed, 
where they lived in huts, for as it was said some soldiers had 
been there and carried away some of them as slaves. But we 
called some of them, making them presents, and some of them 
came to the camp. We gave some things to the caciques, 
and through interpreters gave them to understand that we 
had not come to capture them or to injure them in any manner. 
Thereupon they were reassured, and we erected crosses for 

Hough, in Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, I. 845, q. v. for further data.) 
See p. 321, below, note 5. 

1 B says Pazaguate (p. 167). 

2 "Minas de plata." B says "barras de plata" (bars of silver), which is 
probably a misprint (p. 167). 

3 Probably a misprint for Tobosos, as it appears in B, and as the name is 
commonly known. 



172 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1582 

them in their rancherias and explained to them something 
about 1 God our Lord. They appeared pleased, and being 
so, some of them went on with us till they had taken us be- 
yond their territory. They live on the same things as the 
Pazaguates, use bows and arrows, and go about without cloth- 
ing. We passed through this nation, which seemed to have 
few Indians, in three days, which must have been a distance 
of eleven leagues. 

Having left this nation we came to another who call 
themselves the Jumanos, 2 and whom the Spaniards call, for 
another name, Patarabueyes. This nation appeared to be 
very numerous, and had large permanent pueblos. In it we 
saw five pueblos with more than ten thousand Indians, and 
flat-roofed houses, low and well arranged into pueblos. The 
people of this nation have their faces streaked, and are large ; 
they have maize, gourds, beans, game of foot and wing, and 
fish of many kinds from two rivers that carry much water. 
One of them, which must be about half the size of the Guadal- 
quivir, 3 flows directly from the north and empties into the 
Conchos River. The Conchos, which must be about the size 
of the Guadalquivir, flows into the North Sea. They have 
salines consisting of lagoons of salt water, which at certain 
times of the year solidifies and forms salt like that of the sea. 
The first night, when we pitched camp near a small pueblo of 
this nation, they killed five of our horses with arrows and 
wounded as many more, notwithstanding the fact that watch 
was kept. They retired to a mountain range, where six of us 
went next morning with Pedro, the interpreter, 4 a native of 
their nation, and found them, quieted them, made peace with 
them, and took them to their own pueblo. We told them what 
we had told the others, and that they should inform the peo- 
ple of their nation not to flee nor hide, but to come out to see 
us. To some of the caciques I gave beads, hats, and other 

1 "Algunas cosas de Dios Nuestro Senor." B says "Algunas cosas de la 
ley de Dios Nuestro Senor" (p. 168). ' 

2 B reads "Xumarias" (p. 168), evidently a misprint. For the Jumano 
Indians, see Hodge, Handbook, I. 636 ; Hodge, "The Jumano Indians," in Proc. 
Am. Antiq. Soc, April, 1909 ; Bolton, "The Jumano Indians in Texas," in the 
Texas State Hist. Assoc. Quarterly, XV. 66-84. 

3 B reads "Guadalquibi" (p. 168). 4 Naguatato. 



1582] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 173 

things, so that they would bring them in peace, which they 
did ; and from these pueblos they accompanied us, informing 
one another that we came as friends and not to injure 
them; and thus great numbers of them went with us and 
showed us a river from the north, which has been mentioned 
above. 

On the banks of this river Indians of this nation are settled 
for a distance of twelve days' journey. Some of them have 
flat-roofed houses, and others live in grass huts. The ca- 
ciques came out to receive us, each with his people, without 
bows or arrows, giving us portions of their food, while some 
gave us gamuzas (buckskins) and buffalo hides, very well 
tanned. The gamuzas they make of the hides of deer ; they 
also are tanned, as it is done in Flanders. The hides are from 
the humpbacked cows which they call civola, and whose hair 
is like that of cows of Ireland. The natives dress the hides 1 
of these cows as hides are dressed in Flanders, and make shoes 
of them. Others they dress in different ways, some of the 
natives using them for clothes. These Indians appear to 
have some knowledge of our holy Catholic faith, because they 
point to God our Lord, looking up to the heavens. They 
call him Apalito in their tongue, and say that it is He whom 
they recognize as their Lord and who gives them what they 
have. Many of them, men, women, and children, came to 
have the religious and us Spaniards bless them, which made 
them appear very happy. They told us and gave us to under- 
stand through interpreters that three Christians and a negro 
had passed through there, and by the indications they gave 
they appeared to have been Alonso 2 Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, 
Dorantes Castillo Maldonado, and a negro, who had all es- 
caped from the fleet with which Panfilo Narvaez entered 
Florida. They were left friendly and very peaceful and satis- 
fied, and some of them went with us up the Rio del Norte, 
serving and accompanying us. 3 

1 "Antas" (p. 107). B (p. 169) reads "cintas," evidently a misprint. 

2 A mistake for "Alvar." It is the same in B. 

3 Luxan, in his Entrada, gives a day-by-day diary of the expedition, which 
clears up many of Espejo's very general statements. The Rio del Norte was 
reached on December 9 after twenty-one days, or seventy-two leagues, of actual 
travel. On November 15 they passed the junction of the Florido with the 



174 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1582 

Continuing up that river, always to the north, there came 
out to receive us a great number of Indians, men, women, 
and children, dressed or covered with buckskins ; but we did 
not learn of what nation they were, 1 through lack of inter- 
preters. They brought us many things made of feathers of 
different colors, and some small cotton mantas, striped with 
blue and white, like some of those they bring from China; 
and they gave us to understand by signs that another nation 
that adjoined theirs, towards the west, brought those things 
to barter with them for other goods which these had and 
which appeared from what they told us by signs to be dressed 
hides of cows and deer ; and showing them shining ores, which 
in other places usually bear silver, and others of the same 
kind which we carried, they pointed towards the west five 
days' journey, saying they were taking us to where there was 
an immense quantity of those metals and many people of 
that nation. They went forth with us four days' journey, 
which must have been a distance of twenty-two leagues. 

Conchos; on the 23d they reached Rio de San Pedro, and next day crossed the 
Conchos at El Xacal, forty leagues from San Gregorio, where Lope de Ariste had 
built a hut during a slave-hunting expedition. Here Chamuscado had been 
buried the year before. December 4, twenty-three leagues further on, they left 
the Conchos tribe and entered that of the Pasaguates, friends of the Conchos and 
Patarabueyes, and speaking all three languages. Four leagues beyond, on De- 
cember 6, they reached the first rancheria of the Patarabueyes. This name, 
Luxan tells us, was made up by the soldiers of Mateo Gonzalez during a previous 
slaving expedition to this rancheria. The Indians called themselves Otomoacos. 
It was at this rancheria that the Indians killed Espejo's horses. On the ninth 
the expedition reached the Rio del Norte, five leagues above the junction. The 
Indians here and at the junction were called Abriaches, and spoke a language 
different from the Otomoacos, though related to them. By the Spaniards both 
tribes were called Patarabueyes. Here and at the junction eight days were 
spent awaiting Father Heredia and resting the horses. At the junction they 
visited the village of chief Baysibiye, on the south side, and across the river those 
of chief Casicamoyo and head-chief Qbisise. The previous year Luxan's brother, 
Gaspar, had been at this point on a slaving expedition for Juan de la Parra, of 
Indeche (Inde). Hearing while here through the Indians that Father Lopez 
and his companion were still alive, Father Beltran insisted on hurrying on, with- 
out awaiting Father Heredia. As yet no captain had been formally elected, as 
Heredia was to name one. Accordingly, Espejo was chosen captain and jus- 
ticia mayor, and the march was continued. 

1 Later the Spaniards found the Suma and Manso tribes settled between 
El Paso and the Jumanos. It may have been these whom Espejo saw. See 
p. 176, note 4, below. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 175 

These Indians having stopped, and we having travelled 
four days more up the said river, we found a great number 
of people living near some lagoons 1 through the midst of 
which the Rio del Norte flows. These people, who must 
have numbered more than a thousand men and women, and 
who were settled in their rancherias and grass huts, came 
out to receive us, men, women, and children. Each one 
brought us his present of mesquital, 2 which is made of a fruit 
like the carob bean, 3 fish of many kinds, which are very plen- 
tiful in those lagoons, and other kinds of their food in such 
quantity that the greater part spoiled because the amount 
they gave us was so great. During the three days and nights 
we were there they continually performed mitotes, balls, and 
dances, in their fashion, as well as after the manner of the 
Mexicans. They gave us to understand that there were 
many people of this nation at a distance from there, but we 
did not learn of what nation they were, for lack of inter- 
preters. Among them we found an Indian of the Concho 
nation who gave us to understand, pointing to the west, that 
fifteen days' journey from there there was a very large lake, 
where there were many settlements, with houses of many 
stories, and that there were Indians of the Concho nation 
settled there, people wearing clothes and having plentiful sup- 
plies of maize and turkeys and other provisions in great quan- 
tity, and he offered to take us there. But because our course 
led us north to give succor to the religious and those who 
remained with them, we did not go to the lake. In this ran- 
cheria and district the land and the climate are very good ; and 
nearby there are cows and native cattle, plentiful game of 
foot and wing, mines, many forests, pasture lands, water, sa- 
lines of very rich salt, and other advantages. 

Travelling up the same river, we followed it fifteen days 
from the place of the lagoons mentioned above without find- 
ing any people, going through country with mesquite groves, 
prickly pears, mountains with pine groves having pines and 
pine-nuts like those of Castile, sabines, and cedars. At the 

1 From note 4, p. 176, below, this place would seem to have been some 
distance below El Paso. 

2 B, p. 171, reads "Mezquitama," obviously a misprint. 

3 The mesquite bean. 



176 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

end of this time 1 we found a rancheria, of few people but 
containing many grass huts, many deer skins, also dressed 
like those they bring from Flanders, a quantity of very good 
and white salt, jerked venison, and other kinds of food. These 
Indians received us 2 and went with us, taking us two days' 
journey 3 from that place, to the settlements, always follow- 
ing the Rio del Norte. From the time when we first came 
to it we always followed this river up stream, with a moun- 
tain chain on each side of it, both of which were without 
timber throughout the entire distance until we came near 
the settlements which they call New Mexico, although along 
the banks of the river there are many groves of white pop- 
lars, the groves being in places four leagues wide. We did 
not leave the river from the time when we came to it up 
to the time of reaching the said provinces which they call 
New Mexico. Along the banks of the river, in many parts 
of the road, we found thickets of grape vines and Castilian 
walnut trees. 4 

After we reached the said settlements, continuing up the 
river, in the course of two days we found ten inhabited pueb- 
los 5 on the banks of this river, close to it and on all sides, be- 

X B adds, p. 171, "in which we had travelled about eighty leagues." This 
is important, for it helps to interpret the accounts of the Rodriguez expedition. 
It would seem that the eighty leagues mentioned by Bustamante and the rest 
after leaving the first Indians encountered on the Guadalquivir, refer to the dis- 
tance travelled after leaving the settlements, rather than to that travelled after 
reaching the Guadalquivir. This being the case, the accounts of the two ex- 
peditions tally at these points. 

2 B adds "bien" (p. 172). 

3 B adds "about twelve leagues from there" (p. 172). 

4 Luxan gives the following account of the journey from the camp five 
leagues above the junction to the first pueblos. The pueblos were reached on 
February 1, after twenty-nine days, or one hundred and twenty-three leagues, 
of actual travel. Otomoacos Indians were met all the way up for forty-five 
leagues, till January 2, when the Caguates were met. They were related to the 
Otomoacos and spoke nearly the same language. Eleven leagues farther up 
they encountered large marshes and pools (charcos). Three leagues up, in this 
lake country, they met the Tampachoas, people similar to the Otomoacos. 
Thirty-seven leagues up, on January 26, they crossed the river and from that 
point went straight north. Twenty-one leagues from here they reached the first 
inhabited pueblos, thirteen days of actual travel after reaching the great marshes. 

5 These towns were in the general region of Socorro and above. Twitchell 
thinks the group began about at San Marcial (Leading Facts, I. 274-275). 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 177 

sides other pueblos which appeared off the highway, and 
which in passing seemed to contain more than twelve thou- 
sand persons, men, women, and children. As we were going 
through this province, from each pueblo the people came out 
to receive us, taking us to their pueblos and giving us a great 
quantity of turkeys, maize, beans, tortillas, and other kinds 
of bread, which they make with more nicety than the Mexi- 
cans. They grind on very large stones. Five or six women 
together grind raw corn in a single mill, and from this flour 
they make many different kinds of bread. They have houses 
of two, three, and four stories, with many rooms in each 
house. In many of their houses they have their estufas 1 
for winter, and in each plaza of the towns they have two 
estufas, which are houses built underground, very well shel- 
tered and closed, with seats of stone against the walls to sit 
on. Likewise, they have at the door of each estufa a ladder 
on which to descend, and a great quantity of community 
wood, so that the strangers may gather there. 

In this province some of the natives wear cotton, cow 
hides, and dressed deerskin. 2 The mantas they wear after 
the fashion of the Mexicans, except that over their private 
parts they wear cloths of colored cotton. Some of them wear 
shirts. The women wear cotton skirts, many of them being 
embroidered with colored thread, and on top a manta like 
those worn by the Mexican Indians, tied around the waist 
with a cloth like an embroidered towel with a tassel. The 
skirts, lying next to the skin, serve as flaps of the shirts. This 
costume each one wears as best he can, and all, men as well 
as women, dress their feet in shoes and boots, the soles being 
of cowhide and the uppers of dressed deerskin. The women 
wear their hair carefully combed and nicely kept in place 
by the moulds that they wear on their heads, one on each side, 
on which the hair is arranged very neatly, though they wear 
no headdress. In each pueblo they have their caciques, the 
number differing according to the number of people. These 
caciques have under them caciques, I mean tequitatos, who 

1 These were kivas, or ceremonial chambers. See Hodge, Handbook, I. 
710-711. 

2 For a description of the ancient dress of the Pueblo Indians see Hodge, 
Handbook, II. 322-323. 



178 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

are like alguaciles, and who execute in the pueblo the cacique's 
orders, just exactly like the Mexican people. And when the 
Spaniards ask the caciques of the pueblos for anything, they 
call the tequitatos, who cry it through the pueblo in a loud 
voice, whereupon they bring with great haste what is ordered. 

The painting of their houses, and the things which they 
have for balls and dancing, both as regards the music and 
the rest, are all very much like those of the Mexicans. They 
drink toasted pinole, which is corn toasted and ground and 
mixed with water. It is not known that they have any 
other drink or anything with which to become intoxicated. 
In each one of these pueblos they have a house to which 
they carry food for the devil, and they have small stone 
idols which they worship. Just as the Spaniards have crosses 
along the roads, they have between the pueblos, in the mid- 
dle of the road, small caves or grottoes, like shrines, built of 
stones, where they place painted sticks and feathers, saying 
that the devil goes there to rest 1 and speak with them. 

They have fields of maize, beans, gourds, and piciete 2 in 
large quantities, which they cultivate like the Mexicans. 
Some of the fields are under irrigation, 3 possessing very- 
good diverting ditches, while others are dependent upon the 
weather. Each one has in his field a canopy with four stakes 
and covered on top, where they take him food daily at noon 
and where he takes his siesta, for ordinarily they are in their 
fields from morning until night, after the Castilian custom. 
In this province are many pine forests which bear pine- 
nuts 4 like those of Castile, and many salines on both sides 
of the river. On each bank there are sandy flats more than 
a league wide, of soil naturally well adapted to the raising 
of corn. Their arms consist of bows and arrows, macanas 
and chimales; the arrows have fire-hardened shafts, the heads 
being of pointed flint, with which they easily pass through a 

1 A reads "Va alii ha de poxar" (p. 111). This is a corruption. B reads, 
"Va alii a reposar" (p. 174), which is obviously correct. 

2 B reads "piciere, which is a good and healthy herb" (p. 174). 

3 For a discussion of pueblo irrigation before the coming of the Spaniards, 
see Hodge, Handbook, I. 620-621, and works cited therein. 

4 For a discussion of the range of the pinon, see Ponton and McFarland, 
in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, I. 180-181. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 179 

coat of mail. The chimales are made of cowhide, like leather 
shields; and the macanas consist of rods half a vara long, 
with very thick heads. With them they defend themselves 
within their houses. It was not learned that they were at 
war with any other province. They respect their boundaries. 1 
Here they told us of another province of the same kind which 
is farther up the same river. 

After a stay of four days in this province we set out, and 
half a league from its boundary we found another, which is 
called the province of the Tiguas. It comprises sixteen pueb- 
los, one of which is called Pualas. 2 Here we found that the 
Indians of this province had killed Fray Francisco Lopez and 
Fray Augustin Ruiz, 3 three boys, and a half-breed, whom 
we were going to succor and take back. Here we secured a 
very correct report that Francisco Vasquez Coronado had 
been in the province, and that they had killed nine of his 
soldiers and forty horses, and that because of this he had com- 
pletely destroyed the people of one pueblo of the province. 4 
Of all this the natives of these pueblos informed us by signs 
which we understood. Believing that we were going there 
to punish them because they had killed the friars, before we 
reached the province they fled to a mountain two leagues 
from the river. We tried to bring them back peacefully, 
making great efforts to that end, but they refused to return. 
In their houses we found a large quantity of maize, beans, 
gourds, many turkeys, and many ores of different colors. 
Some of the pueblos in this province, as also the houses, were 
larger than those of the province we had passed, but the 
fields and character of the land appeared to be just the same. 
We were unable to ascertain the number of people in this 
province, for they had fled. 

Having arrived at this province of the Tiguas and found 
that the religious in quest of whom we had come, and the 
half-breed and the Indians who had remained with them, 
were dead, we were tempted to return to Nueva Vizcaya, 
whence we had started. But since while we were there the 

1 This sentence is lacking in B. 

2 B gives this name as "Paula" (p. 175). 3 This should be Rodriguez. 

4 For the revolt of the Tiguex and their punishment by the Spaniards under 
Coronado, see Winship, The Coronado Expedition, p. 497. 



180 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

Indians informed us of another province to the east which 
they said was near, and as it seemed to me that all that coun- 
try was well peopled, and that the farther we penetrated 
into the region the larger the settlements we found, and as 
they received us peacefully, I deemed this a good opportunity 
for me to serve his Majesty by visiting and discovering those 
lands so new and so remote, in order to give a report of them 
to his Majesty, with no expense to him in their discovery. 
I therefore determined to proceed as long as my strength 
would permit. Having communicated my intention to the 
religious and soldiers, and they having approved my deci- 
sion, we continued our journey and discovery in the same 
way as heretofore. 

In this place we heard of another province, 1 called Ma- 
guas, which lay two days' journey to the east. 2 Leaving 
the camp in this province I set out with two companions 
for the place, where I arrived in two days. I found there 
eleven pueblos, inhabited by a great number of people. It 
seemed to me they must comprise more than forty thousand 
souls, between men, women, and children. They have here 
no running arroyos or springs to use, but they have an abun- 
dance of turkeys, provisions, and other things, just as in the 
foregoing province. This one adjoined the region of the 
cows called cibola. They clothe themselves with the hides 
of these cows, with cotton mantas, and with deerskins. They 
govern themselves as do the preceding provinces, and like 
the rest have idols which they worship. They have advan- 

1<< Tubimos noticia de otra provincia" (p. 114). B, evidently corrupt, 
reads, "tubimos noticia como el dicho, otra provincia," etc. (p. 176). 

2 In Espejo's memorial {Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 156) Maguas (Magrias) is 
said to join the Tiguas on the northeast. Bancroft notes a difficulty regarding 
the location {Arizona and New Mexico, p. 85, foot-note). Obregon and Luxan 
state that the Indians in San Felipe, on the border of the Tiguas, told Espejo 
of the death of the two friars at Puaray, and that the Tiguas, knowing of Espejo's 
coming, were preparing to destroy his party. Thereupon a division arose in 
Espejo's camp, some, led by Fray Bernaldino, Miguel Sanchez, and Gregorio 
de Hernandez, desiring to go back; but the rest, led by Espejo and Diego Perez 
de Luxan, voted to continue. From this point they went to visit the Magrias 
(Maguas) pueblos, behind the sierra, returning thence to the river, which they 
ascended fifteen leagues to Puara. This statement clarifies Espejo's narrative 
in regard to the location of the Maguas. They were southeast of Puara. The 
party reached Puara February 17. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 181 

tages for mines in the mountains of this province, for as we 
travelled toward 1 them we found much antimony 2 along the 
route, and wherever this is found there are usually ores rich 
in silver. In this province we found ores in the houses of 
the Indians. We likewise discovered that here they had 
killed one of the religious, called Fray Jhoan de Santa Maria, 
who had entered with the other religious, Francisco Chamus- 
cado, and the soldiers. They killed him before the said 
Francisco Chamuscado went to the pacified country. 3 How- 
ever, we made friends of them, saying nothing of these mur- 
ders. They gave us food, and having noted the nature of 
the country, we departed from it. It is a land of many pine 
forests, with Castilian pine-nuts and sabines. We returned 
to the camp and the Rio del Norte, whence we had come. 

Having reached the camp we heard of another province 
called Quires 4 up the Rio del Norte one day's journey, a dis- 
tance of about six leagues from where we had our camp. 
With the entire force we set out for the province of the Quires, 
and one league before reaching it many Indians came out to 
greet us peacefully, and begged us to go to their pueblos. 
We went therefore and they received us very well, and gave 
us some cotton mantas, many turkeys, maize, and portions 
of all else which they had. This province has five pueblos, 
containing a great number of people, it appearing to us that 
there were fifteen thousand souls. Their food and clothing 
were the same as those of the preceding province. They are 
idolatrous, and have many fields of maize and other things. 
Here we found a parrot in a cage, just like those of Castile, 
and sunflowers like those of China, decorated with the sun, 
moon, and stars. Here the latitude was taken, and we found 
ourselves to be in exactly 37 K° north. We heard of another 
province two days' journey to the west. 

Leaving this province, after two days' march, which is 
fourteen leagues, we found another, called Los Pumames, 6 

!"La Vi a ella" (p. 115); B reads "hacia ella" (p. 177); the former is 
doubtless a corruption, and the latter correct. 

2 Artimonia. B adds, "ques una quemazon de metales de plata" (p. 177). 

3 Tierra de paz. Frequently used in this sense in these documents. 

4 For a brief discussion of the Keresan family, see Hodge, Handbook, I. 675. 
6 "Punames" in B, p. 178. 



182 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

consisting of five pueblos, the chief pueblo being called Sia. 1 
It is a very large pueblo, and I and my companions went 
through it ; it had eight plazas, and better houses than those 
previously mentioned, most of them being whitewashed and 
painted with colors and pictures after the Mexican custom. 
This pueblo is built near a medium-sized river which comes 
from the north and flows into the Rio del Norte, and near 
a mountain. In this province there are many people, ap- 
parently more than twenty thousand souls. They gave us 
cotton mantas, and much food consisting of maize, hens, and 
bread made from corn flour, the food being nicely prepared, 
like everything else. They were a more deft people than 
those we had seen up to this point, but were dressed and 
governed like the others. Here we heard of another province 
to the northwest and arranged to go to it. In this pueblo 
they told us of mines nearby in the mountains, and they 
showed us rich ores from them. 

Having travelled one day's journey to the northwest, 
a distance of about six leagues, we found a province, with 
seven pueblos, called the Province of the Emexes, 2 where 
there are very many people, apparently about thirty thou- 
sand souls. The natives indicated to us that one of the 
pueblos was very large and in the mountains, but it appeared 
to Fray Bernardino Beltran and some of the soldiers that 
our numbers were too small to go to so large a settlement 
and so we did not visit it, in order not to become divided 
into two parties. 3 It consists of people like those already 
passed, with the same provisions, apparel, and government. 
They have idols, bows and arrows, and other arms, as the 
provinces heretofore mentioned. 

We set out from this province towards the west, and 
after going three days, or about fifteen leagues, we found 
a pueblo called Acoma, 4 where it appeared to us there must 

1 "Siay" in A, a misprint for "Sia a," as it is in B, p. 178. Sia is now a 
Keresan tribe on the north side of the Jemez River, about sixteen miles north- 
west of Bernalillo (Hodge, Handbook, I. 562). 

2 Jemez, now a pueblo on the Jemez River, about twenty miles northwest 
of Bernalillo (Hodge, Handbook, I. 629). 

3 That is, in order not to disagree. 

4 Acoma is situated about sixty miles west of the Rio Grande, in Valencia 
County. The rock on which it is built is 357 feet above the plateau (Hodge, 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 183 

be more than six thousand souls. It is situated on a high 
rock more than fifty estados 1 in height. In the very rock 
stairs are built by which they ascend to and descend from 
the town, which is very strong. They have cisterns of water 
at the top, and many provisions stored within the pueblo. 
Here they gave us many mantas, deerskins, and strips of 
buffalo-hide, tanned as they tan them in Flanders, and many 
provisions, consisting of maize and turkeys. These people 
have their fields 2 two leagues from the pueblo on a river 
of medium size, whose water they intercept for irrigating 
purposes, as they water their fields with many partitions of 
the water near this river, in a marsh. Near the fields we 
found many bushes of Castilian roses. We also found Cas- 
tilian onions, which grow in the country by themselves, with- 
out planting or cultivation. The mountains thereabout ap- 
parently give promise of mines and other riches, but we did 
not go to see them as the people from there were many and 
warlike. The mountain people come to aid those of the set- 
tlements, who call the mountain people Querechos. 3 They 
carry on trade with those of the settlements, taking to them 
salt, game, such as deer, rabbits, and hares, tanned deerskins, 
and other things, to trade for cotton mantas and other things 
with which the government pays them. 

In other respects they are like those of the other prov- 
inces. In our honor they performed a very ceremonious mi- 
tote and dance, the people coming out in fine array. They 
performed many juggling feats, some of them very clever, 
with live snakes. 4 Both of these things were well worth see- 

Handbooh, I. 10). The native name of the town is Aco and of the people, Acome. 
For Castaneda's description of Acoma see Winship, The Coronado Expedition, 
p. 491. 

1 An estado is the height of a man, i. e., between five and six feet. 

2 Hodge says that these fields were "probably those still tilled at Acomita 
(Tichuna) and Pueblito (Titsiap), their two summer, or farming, villages, 15 m. 
distant" {Handbook, I. 10). 

3 Querecho was a Pueblo name for the buffalo-hunting Apache Indians east 
of New Mexico (Hodge, Handbook, II. 338). 

4 The snake dance is now characteristically a Hopi (Moqui) ceremony, 
where it is primarily a prayer for rain. It was formerly widespread among the 
Pueblo tribes, and traces of it are still found at Acoma and other places (Walter 
Hough, in Hodge, Handbook, II. 605-606, q. v. for a bibliography of writings on 
the subject). 



184 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

ing. They gave us liberally of food and of all else which 
they had. And thus, after three days, we left this province. 

We continued our march toward the west four days, or 
twenty-four leagues, when we found a province comprising 
six pueblos, which they call Ami, 1 or by another name Ci- 
bola. It contains a great many Indians, who appeared to 
number more than twenty thousand. We learned that Fran- 
cisco Vazquez Coronado and some of the captains he had 
with him had been there. In this province near the pueblos 
we found crosses erected ; and here we found three Christian 
Indians, who said their names were Andres of Cuyuacan, 
Gaspar of Mexico, and Anton of Guadalajara, and stated that 
they had come with the said governor Francisco Vasquez. 
We instructed them again in the Mexican tongue, which 
they had almost forgotten. From them we learned that the 
said Francisco Vazquez Coronado and his captains had been 
there, and that Don Pedro de Tobar had gone in from there, 
having heard of a large lake where these natives said there 
were many settlements. They told us that there was gold 
in that country, and that the people were clothed and wore 
bracelets and earrings of gold ; that these people were sixty 
days' march from there ; that the men of the said Coronado 
had gone twelve days beyond this province and then had re- 
turned, not being able to find water and the supply of water 
they had carried being exhausted. They gave us very clear 
signs regarding that lake and the riches of the Indians who 
live there. Although I and some of my companions desired to 
go to that lake, others did not wish to assist. 

In this province we found a great quantity of Castilian 
flax, which appears to grow in the fields without being planted. 
They gave us extended accounts of what there was in the 
provinces where the large lake is, and of how here they had 

1 "Zuni" in B, p. 180. Perhaps "Ami" is a misprint. At any rate, there 
can be no doubt of its identity with Zufii. Zuni is situated in Valencia County, 
near the western border of New Mexico. It was first visited by Spaniards in 
1539. The only remaining pueblo of the province is on the Zufii River. Obre- 
gon writes that by the time they left Acuco (Acoma) for Ciboro (Zuni) the 
party was seriously divided over the matter of returning to Santa Barbara, and 
that Gregorio Hernandez Gallegos was elected alferez to appease the malcontents. 
Luxan gives the names of the Zuni pueblos visited as Malaque, Cuaquema, 
Agrisco, Olona, Cuaquina, and Cana. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 185 

given to Francisco Vazquez Coronado and his companions 
many ores, which they had not smelted for lack of the neces- 
sary equipment. In this province of Cibola, in a town they 
call Aquico, the said Father Fray Bernaldino, Miguel San- 
chez Valenciano, his wife Casilda de Amaya, Lazaro Sanchez 
and Miguel Sanchez Nevado, his sons, Gregorio Hernandez, 
Cristobal Sanchez, and Juan de Frias, who were in our com- 
pany, said that they wished to return to Nueva Vizcaya, 
whence we had set out, because they had learned that Fran- 
cisco Vazquez Coronado had found neither gold nor silver and 
had returned, and that they desired to do likewise, which they 
did. 1 The customs and rites here are similar to those of the 
provinces passed. They have much game, and dress in cotton 
mantas and others that resemble coarse linen. Here we heard 
of other provinces 2 to the west. 

We went on to the said provinces toward the west, a four 
days' journey of seven leagues per day. At the end of this 
time we found another province called Mohoce, of five pueb- 
los, in which, it seemed to us, there are over fifty thousand 
souls. Before reaching it they sent us messengers to warn 
us not to go there, lest they should kill us. I and nine com- 
panions who had remained with me, namely : Joan Lopez 
de Ibarra, Bernardo de Cuna, 3 Diego Perez de Luxan, Fran- 
cisco Barroto, Gaspar de Luxan, Pedro Fernandez de Al- 
mansa, Alonso de Miranda, Gregorio Fernandez, and Joan 
Hernandez, went to the said province of Mohoce, taking with 
us one hundred and fifty Indians of the province whence we 
started and the said three Mexican Indians. A league be- 
fore we reached the province over two thousand Indians, 
loaded down with provisions, came forth to meet us. We 
gave them some presents of little value, which we carried, 
thereby assuring them that we would not harm them, but 
told them that the horses which we had with us might kill 
them because they were very bad, and that they should make 
a stockade where we could keep the animals, which they did. 
A great multitude of Indians came out to receive us, accom- 
panied by the chiefs of a pueblo of this province called 

1 They did not do so immediately, however, as appears later. 

2 B says "another province," p. 181. 

3 B gives this name as Bernardo de Luna, p. 182. 



186 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

Aguato. 1 They gave us a great reception, throwing much 
maize flour where we were to pass, so that we might walk 
thereon. All being very happy, they begged us to go to see 
the pueblo of Aguato. There I made presents to the chiefs, 
giving them some things that I carried for this purpose. 

The chiefs of this pueblo immediately sent word to the 
other pueblos of the province, from which the chiefs came with 
a great number of people, and begged that we go to see and 
visit their pueblos, 2 because it would give them much pleasure. 
We did so, and the chiefs and tequitatos of the province, see- 
ing the good treatment and the gifts that I gave, assembled 
between them more than four thousand cotton mantas, 3 
some colored and some white, towels with tassels at the ends, 
blue and green ores, which they use 4 to color the mantas, 
and many other things. In spite of all these gifts they thought 
that they were doing little for us, and asked if we were satis- 
fied. Their food is similar to that of the other provinces men- 
tioned, except that here we found no turkeys. A chief and 
some other Indians told us here that they had heard of the 
lake where the gold treasure is and declared that it was neither 
greater nor less than what those of the preceding provinces 
had said. During the six days that we remained there we 
visited the pueblos of the province. 

Thinking that these Indians were friendly toward us, I 
left five of my companions with them in their pueblos, in order 

1 This was Awatobi, a now extinct Hopi pueblo, about nine miles southeast 
of Walpi, in northeastern Arizona. It was visited by Tobar and Cardenas in 
1540, and by Ofiate in 1598. Later it was the seat of a Christian mission (Hodge, 
Handbook, I. 119). 

2 From Zuni to the Moqui pueblos Luxan gives the following itinerary: April 
11, six leagues to Laguna de los Ojuelos; April 12, five leagues to El Cazadero; 
April 13, five leagues to a marsh; April 16, six leagues to Ojo Hediondo; April 
17, six leagues to a Moqui pueblo destroyed by Coronado, a league from Aguato; 
April 18, a fort was built near Aguato; April 19, to Aguato; April 21, to pueblo 
of Gaspe, very high up; April 22, to two pueblos called Comupani and Majanani; 
April 24, three leagues to Olallay, the largest of the province. Obregon gives 
the names of the pueblos : Aguato, Oalpes, Moxanany, Xornupa, and Oloxao. 

3 The raising of cotton was widespread among the ancient Pueblos, but 
especially among the Hopi (Moqui), who to-day are the only ones among whom 
the industry survives (Walter Hough, in Hodge, Handbook, I. 352). 

4 A reads "que buscan dellos," p. 120. B reads "que usan dellos," "which 
they use," p. 183. The latter reading is more probably the correct one. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 187 

that they might return to the province of Ami 1 with the bag- 
gage. With the four others whom I took with me I went di- 
rectly west for forty-five leagues, in search of some rich mines 
there of which they told me, with guides whom they furnished 
me in this province to take me to them. I found them, and 
with my own hands I extracted ore from them, said by those 
who know to be very rich and to contain much silver. The 
region where these mines are is for the most part mountainous, 
as is also the road leading to them. 2 There are some pueblos 
of mountain Indians, who came forth to receive us in some 
places, with small crosses on their heads. 3 They gave us 
some of their food and I presented them with some gifts. 
Where the mines are located the country is good, having 
rivers, marshes, and forests; on the banks of the river are 
many Castilian grapes, walnuts, flax, blackberries, 4 maguey 
plants, and prickly pears. The Indians of that region plant 
fields of maize, and have good houses. They told us by signs 
that behind those mountains, at a distance we were unable 
to understand clearly, flowed a very large river which, accord- 
ing to the signs they made, was more than eight leagues in 
width and flowed towards the North Sea ; 5 that on the banks 
of this river on both sides are large settlements; that the 

1 "Zuni" in B, p. 183. 

2 Luxan gives the following itinerary from the Moqui province to the 
mines: From Olallay they returned to Aguato. Leaving Aguato that day they 
went five leagues to Ojo Triste; May 1, ten leagues to a fine river; May 2, six 
leagues through cedars and past pools and marshes, to a large marsh, near a 
pine and cedar forest; May 6, seven leagues through a rough and difficult forest, 
and down a steep slope to a fine river running south, called Rio de las Parras; 
May 7, six leagues, part of the time along Rio de las Parras, to a marsh, called 
Cienega de San Gregorio; May 8, four leagues to a marsh. On the way a fine 
river running south was crossed, and named Rio de los Reyes. At the marsh 
they met Indians with crosses on their heads. Near the marsh were the mines 
in a rough mountain. Finding no silver and only a little copper, they returned to 
Zuni. Espejo probably reached the region of Bill Williams Fork, west of Pres- 
cott, Arizona. See Bancroft, Arizona and New Mexico, p. 88, for a somewhat 
different opinion. It seems clear that Farfan, in 1598, went over essentially 
Espejo's ground. 

3 They were tied to the hair. See p. 242, note 2. 

4 "Xorales" in A, a misprint for "morales," as it is in B, p. 184. 

6 It is to be presumed that it was the Colorado River of which Espejo was 
told, but if so he evidently misunderstood what they said about the direction of 
the current, or else the text is defective. 



188 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

river was crossed in canoes; that in comparison with those 
provinces and settlements on the river, the province where 
we were then was nothing ; and that in that land were many- 
grapes, nuts, and blackberries. From this place we returned 
to the one whither I had sent my companions, it being about 
sixty leagues from the said mines to Ami. 1 We endeavored 
to return by a different route so as to better observe and under- 
stand the nature of the country, and I found a more level 
road than the one I had followed in going to the mines. 

Upon arriving at the province of Ami, I found my five 
companions whom I had left there, 2 and also Father Fray 
Bernaldino, who had not yet gone back with his companions. 
The Indians of that province had supplied them all they needed 
to eat, and he 3 with all of us greatly rejoiced. The caciques 
came forth to receive me and my companions and gave us 
plentiful food, and Indians for guides and to carry the loads. 
When we bade them adieu they made us many promises, say- 
ing that we must return again and bring many "Castillos," 
as they call the Spaniards, and that with this in view they 
were planting a great deal of maize that year so that there 
would be ample food for all. From this province Fray Bernal- 
dino and the others who had remained with him returned, 
and with them Gregorio Hernandez, who had accompanied 
me as ensign, although I urged them not to leave, but to re- 
main and search for mines and other treasures, in the service 
of his Majesty. 

Fray Bernaldino and his companions having departed, 
with eight soldiers I returned, determined to go up the Rio del 
Norte, by which we had entered. After having travelled ten 
days, or about sixty leagues, to the province of the Quires, we 
went east from there two days' journey of six leagues each, 
and reached a province of Indians called the Ubates, 4 having 
five pueblos. The Indians received us peacefully and gave 
us much food, turkeys, maize, 5 and other things. From there 

1 "Zuni" in B, p. 184. 2 He had left them in the Moqui country. 

3 A reads, "y el con todos nosotros, se holgaron mucho," p. 122. B reads, 
"y con todos nosotros se holgaron mucho," p. 184. 

4 This was evidently a Tano settlement north of Santa Fe. This being the 
case, Espejo went northeast instead of east from the Queres (Twitchell, Leading 
Fads, I. 282). 

6 B omits "maiz," p. 185. 



1583] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 189 

we went in quest of some mines 1 of which we had heard and 
found them in two days, travelling from one place to another. 
We secured shining ore and returned to the settlement from 
which we had set out. The number of people in these pueblos 
is great, seeming to us to be about twenty thousand souls. 
They dress in white and colored mantas, and tanned deer and 
buffalo hides. They govern themselves as do the neighboring 
provinces. There are no rivers here, but they utilize springs 
and marshes. They have many forests of pine, cedar, and 
sabines. 2 Their houses are three, four, and five stories in 
height. 

Learning that at one day's journey from this province 
there was. another, we went to it. It consists of three very 
large pueblos, which seemed to us to contain more than forty 
thousand souls. It is called the province of the Tamos. 3 
Here they did not wish to give us food or admit us. Because 
of this, and of the illness of some of my companions, and of 
the great number of people, 4 and because we were unable to 
subsist, we decided to leave the country, 5 and, at the begin- 
ning of July, 1583, taking an Indian from the said pueblo as 
a guide, we left by a different route from that by which we 
had entered. At a distance of half a league from a town of 
the said province, named Ciquique, 6 we came to a river which 
I named Rio de las Vacas, 7 for, travelling along its banks for 
six days, a distance of about thirty leagues, 8 we found a great 
number of the cows of that country. After travelling along 
this river one hundred and twenty leagues toward the east 
we found three Indians hunting. They were of the Jumana 
nation. From them we learned through an interpreter whom 

*B reads "ruinas," obviously misprint for "minas," p. 185. 

2 B reads "salinas," evidently a misprint for "sabinas," p. 185. 

3 Tanos. See Hodge, Handbook, II. 686-687. 

4 I. e., the Indians. 5 The last clause is omitted from B, p. 186. 

6 Cicuye, or Pecos, a Tanoan settlement, now extinct, but formerly the 
largest pueblo of New Mexico. It was situated on the Pecos River, about thirty 
miles southeast of Santa Fe (Hodge, Handbook, II. 220-221). 

* The Pecos. 

8 Alvarado had gone over the same route in 1540, and Coronado in 1541. 
In the eighteenth century it was followed in opening a highway to San Antonio, 
Texas (manuscript diaries of Pedro Vial, 1786-1789, Santiago Fernandez, 1788, 
and Francisco Xavier Fragoso, 1788). 



190 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

we had that we were twelve days' journey from the Conchas 
River, a distance which we thought must be a little over forty 
leagues. We crossed over to this river, 1 passing many water- 
ing places in creeks and marshes on the way, and found there 
many of the Cumano 2 nation, who brought us fish of many 
kinds, prickly pears and other fruits, and gave us buffalo hides 
and tanned deerskins. From there we came out to the Valley 
of San Bartolome, whence Fray Bernaldino Beltran and I, 
with the companions named herein, had started. We found 
that the said Father Fray Bernaldino and his companions 
had arrived many days before at the province of San Barto- 
lome, and had gone to the Villa of Guadiana. 3 

Everything narrated herein I saw with my own eyes, and 
is true, for I was present at everything. Sometimes I set out 
from the camp with a number of companions, sometimes with 
but one, to observe the nature of that country, in order to 
report everything to his Majesty, that he may order what is 
best for the exploration and pacification of those provinces 
and for the service of God our Lord and the increase of His 
holy Catholic faith ; and that those barbarians may come to 
know of it and to enter into it. My companions and I have 
employed in this narrative, as also in the autos and diligencias 4 
which we drew up on the way, all possible and necessary care, 
as is shown by testimony as authoritative as we were able to 
procure there. Not all that occurred could be written, nor 
can I give an account of it in writing, for it would be too long, 
for the lands and provinces through which we travelled on 
this journey were many and large. 

By the direct course which we took from the Valley of 
San Bartolome until we reached the borders of the provinces 
we visited, it is over two hundred and fifty leagues, and by 
the route over which we returned it is more than two hundred 

1 The route followed must have been approximately that of Juan Domin- 
guez de Mendoza, almost exactly a century later. Mendoza was thirteen days 
in going from the mouth of the Conchos to the Pecos, and estimated the dis- 
tance at seventy leagues. See post, pp. 325-328, and Bolton, ''The Jumano 
Indians," in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, XV. 73-74. 

2 Evidently a misprint for "Jumano." B reads " Jumanas," p. 186. 

3 Guadiana, an early name for Durango. 

4 The autos and diligencias were the authenticated records of their acts, 
drawn up on the spot. 



15S3] NARRATIVE OF ESPEJO 191 

leagues. Besides this, we travelled more than three hundred 1 
more leagues in the exploration of the said provinces and in 
going through them from one part to another, over both 
rough and level lands, over lagoons, marshes,, and rivers, with 
great dangers and many difficulties. We foimd many differ- 
ent tongues among the natives of those provinces, different 
modes of dress, and different customs. That which we saw 
and of which I write gives but an inkling of what actually 
exists in those provinces, for in travelling through them we 
heard of large settlements, very fertile lands, silver mines, 
gold, and better governed peoples. 

As we saw, dealt with, and heard of large settlements, and 
as our numbers were few, and as some of my companions were 
afraid to continue further, we did not explore more than what 
I have stated. But even to accomplish this much has re- 
quired of us great coinage, which we mustered because we 
realized that thereby we were serving God our Lord and his 
Majesty, and that thereby the Indians might obtain some 
light, and in order that we might not lose our opportunity. 
We therefore endeavored by all means at our disposal to see 
and understand everything, learning the facts through inter- 
preters where there were any, or by signs where there were 
none, the Indians of those provinces shoving us by lines 
which they made on the ground and by then hands the number 
of days' journey from one province to another, and the num- 
ber of pueblos in each province, or by the best means at our 
com m and for understanding. 

The people of all those provinces are large and more vigor- 
ous than the Mexicans, and are healthy, for no illness was 
heard of among them. The women are whiter skinned than 
the Mexican women. They are an intelligent and well-gov- 
erned people, with pueblos well formed and houses well ar- 
ranged, and from what we could understand from them, any- 
thing regarding good government they will learn quickly. In 
the greater part of those provinces there is much game of 
foot and wing, rabbits, hares, deer, native cows, ducks, geese, 
cranes, pheasants, and other birds, good mountains with all 

1 For a general estimate of distances travelled, see Espejo's letter to the 
viceroy, p. 193. B (p. 1ST) gives the figure as fifty, ''cincuenta," obviously a 

misprint. 



192 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1583 

kinds of trees, salines and rivers, and many kinds of fish. In 
the greater portion of this country carts and wagons can be 
used ; there are very good pastures for cattle, lands suitable 
for fields and gardens, with or without irrigation, and many 
rich mines, 1 from which I brought ores to assay and ascertain 
their quality. I also brought an Indian from the province 
of Tamos 2 and a woman from the province of Mohoce, so 
that if in the service of his Majesty return were to be made 
to undertake the exploration and settlement of those provinces 
they might furnish us with information regarding them and 
of the route to be travelled, and in order that for this purpose 
they might learn the Mexican and other tongues. For all of 
this I refer to the autos and diligencias which are made in the 
matter, from which will be seen more clearly the good inten- 
tions and good-will with which I and my companions served 
his Majesty in this journey, and the good opportunity there 
was for doing so in order to report to his Majesty, in whose 
service I desire to spend my life and my fortune. 

I wrote this narrative at the mines of Santa Barbola, of the 
jurisdiction of Nueva Vizcaya, at the end of October, 1583, 
having arrived at the Valle of San Bartolome, in the said juris- 
diction, on the 20th of September of the said year, the day 
we arrived from the said journey. 

Antonio Despejo. 
(Between two rubrics.) 

1 A reads "muchas animas ricas," literally "many rich souls." This ob- 
viously is a misprint for "muchas minas ricas," as given by B, p. 188. 

2 Apparently the person referred to in Zaldivar's account of his journey to 
the buffalo, p. 223, below. 



LETTER OF ESPEJO TO THE VICEROY, 1583 * 

Very illustrious Sir : 

Some twenty-five days ago I reached these mines of Santa 
Balbola, 2 of this jurisdiction, very much wearied and fatigued 
from having travelled, within the past year and over, more 
than eight hundred leagues, 3 visiting and exploring the prov- 
inces of New Mexico, to which I gave the name of Nueva 
Andalucia, as I was born in the district of Cordoba. I en- 
tered those lands with a pious purpose, as your Lordship, if 
you so desire, may see from the account of my entire journey 
which I transmit. I trust in God that therefrom great re- 
sults will accrue to your service, to that of his Majesty, and to 
the exaltation of the Catholic faith. For, besides the lands 
and settlements which I traversed, and the great number of 
pueblos and people which I saw, I heard of many more, larger 
and richer, beyond and on the borders of the others ; but our 
numbers being few and provisions being already consumed, 
we did not go further. 

I would have been glad to go and kiss the hands of your 
Lordship as soon as I learned in Santa Balbola that his Majesty 
had entrusted to your Lordship the inspection 4 of that Royal 
Audiencia. But not until I shall have proved my innocence 
of the charge against me, 5 which I hope in God will be soon, 
shall I venture to appear before your Lordship. I am deter- 
mined however to send a suitable person, 6 who in my name 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. InM., XV. 162-163. 

2 Santa Barbara. 3 See Espejo's relation, p. 192. 

4 The word is visita, which was more than a mere inspection. It involved 
wide powers of instituting reforms. 

6 When Espejo returned to Santa Barbara the alcalde mayor confiscated his 
papers, and the Indians and three thousand blankets which he had brought. 
Later, at the order of the Real Audiencia, they were restored (Obregon, Relation, 
pt. II., cap. IX.). 

6 On April 23, 1584, Espejo named Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, his son-in- 
law, his representative before the court, and stated that Gonzalez was about to 
start for Spain. Espejo, "Memorial," April 23, 1584, in Pacheco and Cardenas, 
Col Doc. Ined., XV. 189. 

193 



194 NEW MEXICO: ESPEJO EXPEDITION [1582-1583 

shall give a report to his Majesty of my wanderings, and beg 
him to favor me by entrusting to me the exploration and set- 
tlement of these lands and of the others which I may discover, 
for I shall not be satisfied until I reach the coasts of the North 
and South seas. Although they have attached part of my 
estate, I shall not lack the necessary means to accomplish 
the journey with a sufficient number of men, provisions, arms, 
and ammunition, should his Majesty grant me the favor, as 
one has a right to expect from his most Christian and gener- 
ous hand. I would not dare to write to your Lordship if this 
undertaking were not of such importance to God and his 
Majesty, in whose name your Lordship acts. May our Lord 
guard and preserve the illustrious person and state of your 
Lordship many years, as we all, your humble servants, desire. 
From the Valley of San Bartholomew, of Nueva Vizcaya, at 
the end of October, 1583. 

Most Illustrious Sir: Your servant kisses the hands of 
your most Illustrious Lordship. 

Antonio de Espejo. 

[Superscription] : To the illustrious Archbishop of Mexico, 1 
Visitor-general of New Spain, my lord. 

1 This was Pedro Moya de Contreras. 



LETTER OF ESPEJO TO THE KING, 1584 1 

His Very Catholic Royal Majesty: 

Since from the relation which accompanies this letter your 
Majesty will be informed of the lands and provinces which, 
by God's favor, and with the desire to serve your Majesty and 
increase the royal crown, like a loyal and faithful vassal, I 
have discovered and traversed since the month of November, 
1582, when I set out from the government of Nueva Vizcaya 
with a religious and fourteen soldiers whom I took with me, 
moved and compelled by a very pious and charitable occasion, 
I will omit telling of them now; but I beg your Majesty to 
please be assured of my zeal, so dedicated to the service of 
your Majesty, and consider it well that I should finish my life 
in the continuation of these discoveries and settlements ; for 
with the estate, prominence, and friends which I possess, I 
promise to serve your Majesty with greater advantage than 
any others who are attempting to make a contract with you 
regarding this enterprise. I beg your Lordship to please order 
that it be made with me, your Majesty granting me the mercy, 
honor, and favor corresponding to my very great desire to 
increase the realms of your Majesty and the Catholic faith, 
by the conversion of millions of souls who lack the true knowl- 
edge, and to elevate my name and my memory the better to 
serve and to merit the favor of your Majesty, whom God our 
Lord exalt and preserve many years, as the vassals of your 
Majesty have need. San Salvador, April 23, 1584. — His 
Very Catholic Royal Majesty. — Your Majesty's most humble 
vassal, 

Antonio Espejo (two rubrics). 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined., XV. 100-101. 



NEW MEXICO 

THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS AND THE 
FOUNDING OF THE PROVINCE OF 
NEW MEXICO, 1596-1605 



INTRODUCTION 

The expeditions of Rodriguez and Espejo stirred up an 
enthusiasm for northern exploration much like that which 
had preceded the expedition of Coronado. There were now 
dreams, not only of conquering and settling New Mexico, but 
of going beyond the Llanos del Cibolo and Quivira to plant 
settlements on the Strait of Anian, and soon there was a crowd 
of competitors for the position of adelantado of New Mexico. 

First among the applicants was Cristobal Martin. In Oc- 
tober, 1583, he proposed to conquer and colonize the region, 
leading thither an expedition of two or three hundred men, 
in exchange for titles of honor and extensive privileges, among 
them being the right to explore and settle one thousand 
leagues beyond the first pueblos of New Mexico and to estab- 
lish ports on either ocean. 

Espejo, soon after his return, addressed a memorial to the 
king asking permission to undertake at his own expense the 
conquest and settlement of New Mexico. He proposed taking 
four hundred soldiers, one hundred with their families, and a 
large outfit of live-stock. He recommended making the new 
province dependent directly on Spain rather than on the vice- 
roy; and as a means to this end he proposed looking for a port 
on the North Sea as a base of communication and supplies. 
He would thus be master of another viceroyalty. 

About the same time Francisco Diaz de Vargas, alguacil 
mayor and regidor of Puebla, asked for the title of adelantado 
of the north country. He gave the opinion that all the region 
seen by Coronado, Ibarra, Chamuscado, and Espejo was poor 
in provisions and minerals ; but beyond, it was said, was a 

199 



200 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS 

great salt river, and lakes where the people used gold and 
silver. He presumed that the river was the northern strait, 
or an arm of either the North Sea or the South Sea ; and he 
offered to take at his own expense sixty or seventy men, and 
pass two hundred leagues beyond New Mexico, to explore, 
and, if desirable, to settle the country. 

Five years later (in 1589) Juan Bautista de Lomas y Col- 
menares, a wealthy resident of Nueva Galicia, proposed to 
undertake the task, asking for the right to exclude all other 
adventurers from territory beyond his own conquests. A 
contract with Lomas was made by the viceroy on March 11, 
1589, but it was not approved by the king, and the new vice- 
roy made an agreement with Francisco de Urdinola; but 
before he could fulfil it Urdinola was arrested on a criminal 
charge. In 1592 and again in 1595 Lomas attempted to have 
his contract renewed, but without avail. 

While these men were seeking to secure contracts with 
the king, others entered the coveted field without governmental 
sanction. In 1590 Gaspar Castano de Sosa, lieutenant- 
governor in Nuevo Leon, hearing of the excitement regarding 
New Mexico, formed his mining camp of Nuevo Almaden, 
now Monclova, into a colony and started north with more than 
one hundred and seventy persons. 

Crossing the Nadadores, Sabinas, and Rio Grande, he 
ascended the Salado or Pecos. Reaching a pueblo, probably 
Pecos, he captured it after a battle, and from there continued 
his conquest through the Tehua, Queres, and Tiguas towns, 
having also ascended to Taos. In the midst of his successes 
he was arrested by Captain Juan Morlete, sent for the purpose 
from Saltillo by the viceroy. 

Some three years later Francisco Leyva de Bonilla and 
Antonio Gutierrez de Humana led an unauthorized expedi- 
tion from Nueva Vizcaya to New Mexico. They spent about 
a year among the pueblos, making Bove, later San Ildefonso, 



INTRODUCTION 201 

their principal headquarters. Setting out from there they 
went far to the northeastward, entered a large Indian settle- 
ment on the Arkansas, in eastern Kansas, and continued to a 
still larger stream some twelve days' journey beyond. The 
stream would seem to have been the Platte. On the way 
Humana murdered Leyva and took command, but later he 
and nearly all his party were destroyed by Indians. 1 

The contract for the conquest and settlement of New 
Mexico was finally awarded in 1595 to Juan de Onate, a mem- 
ber of a family which had taken a prominent part in the con- 
quest of New Spain. His wife was granddaughter of Cortes 
and great-granddaughter of Montezuma. His father, Cristo- 
bal de Onate, had been prominent among the conquerors of 
Nueva Galicia and one of the founders of Zacatecas ; he him- 
self was one of the wealthy citizens of that place. 

By his contract Onate was made governor, adelantado, 
and captain-general of the new conquests, and was granted 
a government subsidy and extensive privileges, while the usual 

1 Much new light is thrown on the Humana expedition by the now acces- 
sible declaration of the Indian Jusephe (Joseph) who had been with Humana 
and returned to New Mexico. The declaration was made at San Juan, February 
16, 1599. Jusephe stated that Humana went through Pecos and a great pueblo 
of the Vaqueros. At the end of a month of leisurely wandering from side to 
side, crossing many streams, they reached great herds of buffalo. Going north- 
ward now fifteen days, they reached two large rivers, beyond which were ran- 
cherias, and, farther ahead, a very large pueblo in a great plain ten leagues long, 
which they crossed in two days. Through the pueblo flowed one of the rivers, 
both of which they had crossed. The houses were grass lodges and the Indians 
had plentiful crops. Humana continued three days to a most amazing buffalo 
herd. Going still farther, they found no Indian rancherias, and only ordinary 
buffalo herds. Three days after having left the large pueblo Humana murdered 
Leyba. Ten days from the pueblo they came to a large river about a quarter 
of a league wide. Upon reaching the river, Jusephe and five other Indians fled 
and returned toward New Mexico. On the way four were lost, and a fifth was 
killed. Jusephe was taken prisoner by the Apaches and kept for a year. At 
the end of that time he heard that there were Spaniards in New Mexico and made 
his way to one of the Pecos pueblos, and was later found by Onate at Picuries 
O'Relacion que dio un indio de la salida que hicieron Umana y Leyba del Nuevo 
Mexico," MS.). It is clear that the large pueblo reached by Humana was the 
one north of the Arkansas reached by Onate in 1601 (see p. 260, below). 



202 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS 

privileges and exemptions of first settlers (primeros pobladores) 
were promised to his colonists. Captain Vicente de Zaldivar, 
Onate's nephew, was made recruiting officer. The lists were 
opened with great pomp and ceremony at the viceroy's pal- 
ace, and the enterprise was popular. Spiritual charge of 
the conquests was assigned to the Franciscans, and Fray Ro- 
drigo Duran was made commissary. 

A change of viceroys and jealousy of Onate on the part 
of his rivals caused long delays and a modification of his con- 
tract. Early in 1596, however, he began his march north 
from Mexico City, but underwent inspections and suffered 
long delays at Zacatecas, Caxco, San Bartolome, San Gero- 
nimo, and Rio de Conchos. After having spent nearly two 
years on the way, on February 7, 1598, the start was made 
from the last-named place. The colony now consisted of 
four hundred men, of whom one hundred and thirty had 
their families. For carrying baggage there were eighty-three 
wagons and carts, and a herd of more than seven thousand 
head of stock was driven on foot. At Rio de San Pedro 
Ofiate was joined by a new commissary, Father Martinez, 
with a band of new missionaries, Father Duran having been 
recalled. 

Previous expeditions had followed the Conchos, but Vi- 
cente de Zaldivar opened up a new trail direct to the upper 
Rio Grande, leaving the Conchos on the right. Early in 
April the party reached the Medanos, those great sand-dunes 
lying south of El Paso. Here the party was divided, and 
on April 19 a little over half of the wagons began the passage 
of the sand-dunes, leaving the rest to await reinforcements 
of oxen. On the 26th the caravan was reunited on the Rio 
Grande, and on the 30th Onate took formal possession "of 
all the kingdoms and provinces of New Mexico, on the Rio 
del Norte, in the name of our Lord King Philip. There was 
a sermon, a great religious and secular celebration, a great 



INTRODUCTION 203 

salute, and much rejoicing. In the afternoon a comedy was 
presented and the royal standard was blessed." 

Continuing five and one-half leagues up-stream, on May 4 
they reached El Paso, the ford, a place ever since important 
in the history of the Southwest. A short distance after cross- 
ing over, Onate took sixty men and went ahead with the 
commissary "to pacify the land" and to prepare for settle- 
ment. Passing through the pueblo region, on July 7, at 
Santo Domingo, Onate received the submission of the chiefs 
of seven provinces. Continuing north, on July 11 he reached 
the pueblo of Caypa, christened San Juan, where he made 
his headquarters which were established a few years later 
at Santa Fe. 1 The caravan, which had been met above El 
Paso by Vicente de Zaldivar, arrived at San Juan on August 
18, and thus the colony reached its destination. Onate had 
already begun to visit the surrounding pueblos, and on August 
11 work had been begun at San Juan on an irrigating ditch 
for "the city of San Francisco," the Spaniards being assisted 
by fifteen hundred Indians. On August 23 a church was 
begun and its completion was celebrated on September 8. 
Next day a general assembly was held of representatives from 
all the country thus far explored; rods of office were given 
to the chiefs, and the various pueblos were assigned to eight 
Franciscan missionaries, who soon afterward departed for 
their respective charges. Thus was the province of New Mex- 
ico founded. 

The colony having been established and the pueblos hav- 
ing been placed under the friars, Onate turned his attention 
to the search for more attractive fields beyond, which was an 

1 Until as late as March, 1599, Onate's headquarters were at Pueblo de San 
Juan. In June, 1601, and also in December of the same year, they were at 
Pueblo de San Gabriel. The contemporary map of Onate's journey to Quivira, 
which is of unquestioned authenticity, shows San Gabriel to be west of the 
Rio Grande, below the junction with the Chama. In April, 1605, Onate's 
headquarters were still at San Gabriel. See p. 280, below. 



204 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS 

essential part of his task. In the middle of September he 
sent Vicente de Zaldivar, accompanied by sixty men and 
guided by an Indian who had been with Humana, to hunt 
buffalo on the plains to the northeast. Going through Pecos, 
where they left two missionaries, they continued to a point 
seventy leagues from San Juan. Though they failed in their 
attempt to capture buffalo alive, they secured a large supply 
of hides and meat, and made the acquaintance of the Va- 
quero Apaches and of a large stretch of country. 

While Zaldivar was away Onate went southeast and visited 
the great salines and the Jumano pueblos, then turned west 
with the intention of going to the South Sea, where he hoped 
to find wealth in pearls. He made his way to Zuni, where a 
rich saline was discovered, and to the Moqui towns, whence 
he sent Captain Marcos Farfan with a party to find the 
mines discovered by Espejo. Farfan made the journey to 
Bill Williams Fork, found rich veins, staked out claims, and 
brought back detailed reports. In the course of the journey 
he visited Jumanos near San Francisco Mountains, and the 
Cruzados, further southwest. 

In November Juan de Zaldivar followed Onate, intending 
to join him in his expedition to the South Sea, but at Acoma 
he was killed, with fourteen companions, by the Indians. News 
of this misfortune reached Onate while on his way back to 
San Juan, in December, and in January he sent Vicente de 
Zaldivar to avenge his brother's death. After a two days' 
assault, with hand-to-hand fighting, the Indians surrendered. 
The diary laconically adds : " Most of them were killed and 
punished by fire and bloodshed, and the pueblo was com- 
pletely laid waste and burned." 

In 1599 Vicente de Zaldivar, with twenty-five companions, 
made a three months' journey in an attempt to reach the 
South Sea. On the way he had difficulty with the Jumanos, 
and Onate went in person with fifty soldiers to punish the 



INTRODUCTION 205 

offenders. Zaldivar continued his journey till he reached im- 
passable mountains and a hostile tribe, at a point which he 
was told was three days from the sea. 1 So interested was 
Onate in the project of reaching the South Sea that he now 
planned to go in person with a hundred men and prepared to 
build boats. In April, 1601, he was all ready to start, but he 
changed his plans and went northeast instead. 

In June, 1601, Onate set out to see the country traversed 
by Humana. He was accompanied by two friars and more 
than seventy picked men ; he had in his caravan more than 
seven hundred horses and mules, eight carts, four cannon, 
and a retinue of servants to carry the baggage. His guide 
was the Indian Joseph who had led Zaldivar to the Llanos 
del Cibolo. Going by way of Galisteo, he crossed the Pecos 
to the Rio de la Madalena (Canadian River). Descending 
that stream to a great bend one hundred and eleven leagues 
from the pueblo of San Gabriel, he continued northeast to a 
point on the Arkansas more than two hundred and twenty 
leagues from the starting-point. Before crossing the stream 
he had dealings with a roving tribe called the Escanjaques. 
Fording the Arkansas, Onate visited the extensive settlement 
called Quivira, through which Humana had passed. It was 
evidently at Wichita, Kansas. The Quiviras appearing hos- 
tile, the journey was now discontinued. On starting home- 
ward a battle was fought with the Escanjaques. 

Before Onate had set out for the northeast he had engen- 
dered hostility, and when he returned he found that most 
of the colonists and friars had deserted to Santa Barbara; 

1 The principal source at my command regarding the Zaldivar expedition 
to the west has not been known before. It is a manuscript in the Archivo de 
Indias consisting of an abstract of reports sent by Onate, March 22, 1601 (see 
p. 209, doc. a). In an investigation regarding the work of Zaldivar, December, 
1601, this expedition is recorded briefly. Doc. Ined., XVI. 219. Bancroft, 
Arizona and New Mexico, evidently overlooked this source, for he rejects a 
statement by Penalosa that Zaldivar made such an expedition. 



206 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS 

Zaldivar was accordingly sent to recover them. In 1602 Zal- 
divar went to Spain to secure a confirmation of Onate's titles 
and a force of three hundred men with whom to continue 
explorations beyond Quivira. 

Onate still planned for reaching the South Sea, and in 
1604 he carried out his intention. Setting out in October 
with thirty men, he followed in the footsteps of Espejo and 
Farfan to Bill Williams Fork. Descending that stream to 
the Colorado he followed its left bank to the Gulf of Cali- 
fornia, returning to New Mexico in 1605, where he ruled till 
1608. He had now re-explored practically all of the ground 
covered by the Coronado and Espejo expeditions and opened 
new trails. 

The principal printed original sources for the work of Onate 
are those in Pacheco and Cardenas, Documentos Ineditos, XVI. 
38-66, 88-141, 228-322. These, given in order, consist of : 

1. "Treslado de la posesion que en nombre de Su Mage- 
stad tomo Don Juan de Ofiate, de los Reynos y Provincias 
de la Nueva Mexico; y de las obediencias y vassalaje que 
los Judios [Indios] de algunos pueblos de los dichos Reynos 
y provincias le dieron en el dicho nombre, Ano de 1598" 
(pp. 88-141). This contains the act of possession proclaimed 
on the Rio Grande April 30, 1598; acts of " obedience and 
vassalage" by the pueblos of Santo Domingo, San Juan 
Baptista, Acolocu, Cueloce, Acoma, Aguscobi, and Mohoquf; 
and the assignment of pueblos to the different friars. The 
act of possession is also printed in Villagra, Historia de la 
Nueva Mexico, fols. 114-132. 

2. "Discurso de las jornadas que hizo el Campo de Su 
Magestad desde la Nueva Espana a* la provincia de la Nueva 
Mexico, Ano de 1526 [1596]." The subtitle, by which it will 
be cited, is "Ytinerario de las minas del Caxco . . . hasta el 
Nuevo Mexico," etc. (pp. 228-276). It is a brief diary, based 
on the official documents, of all the operations of Onate, from 






INTRODUCTION 207 

November 1, 1596, to December 20, 1598. It was written by 
one of the friars. 

3. "Copia de Carta escripta Al Virrey Conde de Mon- 
terrey, Don Juan de Onate, de la Nueva Mexico, a 2 de Marzo 
de 1599 Anos: Corresponde al Capitulo Primero de Materia 
de Guerra, fecha en Mexico a 4 de Octubre de 1599" (pp. 
302-315). Printed hereinafter, pp. 212-222. The letter is a 
summary of events after leaving Rio del Nombre de Dios. 
With this letter were sent, evidently, nos. 1 and 2 above, 
besides other documents noted below. They were carried to 
Mexico by Father Alonso Martinez, Gaspar Perez de Villa- 
gran, and companions. 

4. "Don Alonso de Onate pide se confirme la capitulacion 
que hizo el Virrey con Don Joan de Onate sobre el Nuevo 
Mexico: y que se declare aber cumplido las capitulaciones 
y se le de titulo de Adelantado y otras cosas, en orden al 
cumplimiento de lo que al principio se asento con el : Mayo 
de 1600" (pp. 316-319). 

5. "Don Alonso de Onate, a 5 de Mayo de 1600.— Al 
Presidente del Consejo de Yndias" (pp. 320-322). This docu- 
ment and no. 4 are requests by Onate's brother that the con- 
queror's titles and privileges be confirmed. 

6. "Memorial sobre el descubrimiento del Nuevo Mexico 
y sus acontecimientos, Anos desde 1595 a 1602" (pp. 188- 
227). This is a memorial presented by Vicente de Zaldivar 
in 1602 requesting that Ofiate be equipped with three hun- 
dred men to continue explorations left off at the Arkansas 
River in 1601, followed by a summary of Onate's negotiations 
and of investigations made in Mexico in 1602 regarding 
Onate's work. 

7. "Discurso y Proposicion que se hace & Vuestra Mage- 
stad de lo tocante a los descubrimientos del Nuevo Mexico 
por sus capitulos de puntos diferentes" (pp. 38-66). This is 
a discussion by the viceroy of the negotiations with and the 



208 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS 

work of Onate, written at the time when Zaldlvar went to 
Spain to present his petition. It is in four parts. Part I. 
is a statement of reasons why Onate should not be granted 
the concessions which the viceroy had withheld. Part II. 
tells of investigations made to determine whether Onate had 
fulfilled his contract. Part III. discusses what he has accom- 
plished in New Mexico and the advantages and difficulties 
of maintaining the province. Part IV. is a brief account 
(" Breve relation") of Onate's expedition to the Arkansas, 
based on the correspondence, and a discussion of the im- 
portance of the expedition. 

Besides the above printed official sources, there are im- 
printed documents of the same class in the Archivo de Indias, 
of even greater importance. Of these the following are repre- 
sented by transcripts in the Lowery Collection at the Library 
of Congress, while transcripts of several others are in the Ayer 
Collection at the Newberry Library in Chicago: 

a. "Relation de como los Padres de San Francisco se en- 
cargaron de las Provincias de la Nueva Mexico, con testi- 
monio autorizado. Sep're 8" (Nuevo Mexico, 1598). This is 
the act of possession given by Onate to the friars. It con- 
tains important data not contained in no. 1 above. 

b. "Relaciones que envio Don Juan de Onate de algunas 
jornadas descubrimientos y ensayes que se hicieron en Nuevo 
Mexico" (Nuevo Mexico, 1599). These documents consist of 
first-hand accounts, hitherto unused by modern scholars, of 
Ofiate's explorations and of the Humana expedition. They in- 
clude (1) "Relation del descubrimiento de las Vacas de cibola" 
(printed hereinafter, pp. 223-232). This is the original re- 
port of Zaldivar's expedition to the buffalo plains in 1598. 
(2) "Relation de la Jornada que hicieron £ la Mar y la visita 
de salinas y Xumanas" (printed hereinafter, pp. 233-238). 
This is the original account of Onate's expedition in 1598 to 
the Salines, the Jumanos, and the Moqui. (3) "Relation 



INTRODUCTION 209 

del descubrimiento de las salinas de cuni." This is the decla- 
ration of Farfan and others regarding the saline discovered 
near Zuni in 1598. (4) "Relation e information del descu- 
brimiento de minas" (printed hereinafter, pp. 239-249). This 
is the declaration of Farfan and his companions regarding 
their journey to the mines of Arizona in 1598. (5) "Rela- 
tion que dio un indio de la salida que hicieron Umana y Leyba 
del Nuevo Mexico." This contains the declaration of the 
Indian Jusephe (Joseph) and of Zaldlvar regarding the Humana 
expedition. (6) "Relation de los ensayes que se hicieron de 
ciertas minas." This is the testimony given in 1599 regarding 
the assays of ores brought from Arizona by the Farfan party. 

c. "Relation sacada de las cartas que envia Don Juan de 
Ofiate Gobernador de las provincias de la Nueva Megico. 
Vino con carta de veinte y dos de Marzo de 1601" (Nuevo 
Mexico, 1601). This document tells of events of 1599-1600 
not recounted elsewhere, among them being the unknown 
journey of Zaldivar to discover the South Sea in 1599. 

d. "Relation Verdadera de los sucesos de la entrada que 
hizo el gobernador D. Juan de Onate en las poblaciones de 
Nueva Megico hacia el norte" (printed hereinafter, pp. 250- 
267). This is the original account of Onate's expedition to 
the Arkansas in 1601. 

e. " Parecer de la Audiencia de Mexico cerca de la propo- 
sition de la conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo Mexico." 
This is a part of the documents of which no. 6 above (" Mem- 
orial sobre el descubrimiento") is a summary. It is the docu- 
ment summarized in Pacheco and Cardenas, XVI. 200, last 
paragraph. 

Among the contemporary histories three are especially 
important : (1) In 1610 there was published at Alcala, Spain, 
the Historia de la Nueva Mexico, del Caption Gaspar de Vi- 
llagra (24 + 287 folios). This work, while written in verse, is 
in reality an important source based upon the author's per- 



210 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS 

sonal experience and documentary data. The account is 
especially important for the preparation of the expedition and 
the march to New Mexico, and for the revolt and the punish- 
ment of Acoma. Incorporated in it are several official docu- 
ments, some of which are not elsewhere available (fols. 55-60, 
119-132, 208-212). A reprint of this work was published in 
Mexico in 1900 by Sr. Don Luis Gonzalez Obregon. As ap- 
pendices it contains important documents regarding Villagra/s 
personal history, besides other documents relating to the his- 
tory of New Mexico. (2) Father Zarate-Salmeron, " Relaciones 
de Todas las cosas que en el Nuevo-Mexico se han visto y 
Savido, asi por mar como por tierra, desde el ano de 1538 hasta 
el de 1626 " (printed in Documentor para la Historia de Mexico, 
tercera serie, Mexico, 1856) gives a chapter on the "Entrada 
de D. Juan de Onate al Nuevo Mexico " (paragraphs 33-36) ; 
one on the "Jornada de D. Juan de Oiiate a la Gran Ciudad 
de Quivira" (paragraphs 37-43) and another on the "Jornada 
de D. Juan de Oiiate a la California por tierra" (paragraphs 
44-57). The account of the Quivira expedition contains many 
details not accessible elsewhere, while that of the expedition 
of 1604-1605 is practically our sole reliance. It was evidently 
based on full first-hand reports. When Father Zarate wrote, 
in 1626, he had spent eight years as missionary in New Mexico. 
A translation of the Zarate "Relaciones" was published by 
Charles F. Lummis in 1899 and 1900, in Land of Sunshine, 
vols. XI. and XII. The translation published hereinafter, 
though made independently, owes much to that one. (3) 
Torquemada, Monarchia Indiana, which was finished just 
after the Onate conquest, contains (tomo I., libro V., caps. 
XXXVL-XL.) a brief account of events to 1608, in which is 
incorporated a letter by Fray Juan de Escalona to the com- 
missary, San Gabriel, October 1, 1601, and a letter by Fray 
Francisco de San Miguel to the provincial, Fray Diego Mufioz, 
Santa Barbara, February 29, 1602. 



INTRODUCTION 211 

A map of Onate's route from Mexico to Quivira in the 
Archivo de Indias, hitherto unpublished, is reproduced oppo- 
site p. 212. A map, or drawing, by an Indian named Miguel 
captured by Oiiate on the Arkansas, is also in the Archivo de 
Indias, and a copy is in the editor's possession. 



LETTER WRITTEN BY DON JUAN DE ONATE 
FROM NEW MEXICO, 1599 

Copy of a letter written by Don Juan de Onate from New Mexico 
to the Viceroy j the Count of Monterey, on the second day 
of March, 1599. 1 

From Rio de Nombre de Dios 2 I last wrote to you, Illus- 
trious Sir, giving you an account of my departure, and of the 
discovery of a wagon road to the Rio del Norte, 3 and of my 
certain hopes of the successful outcome of my journey, which 
hopes God has been pleased to grant, may He be forever 
praised; for greatly to His advantage and that of his royal 
Majesty, they have acquired a possession so good that none 
other of his Majesty in these Indies excels it, judging it solely 
by what I have seen, by things told of in reliable reports, and 
by things almost a matter of experience, from having been 
seen by people in my camp and known by me at present. 

This does not include the vastness of the settlements or 
the riches of the West which the natives praise, or the certainty 
of pearls promised by the South Sea from the many shells 
containing them possessed by these Indians, or the many 
settlements called the seven caves, 4 which the Indians report 
at the head of this river, which is the Rio del Norte ; but in- 
cludes only the provinces which I have seen and traversed, 
the people of this eastern country, the Apaches, the nation 
of the Cocoyes, 5 and many others which are daily being dis- 

1 Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. Ined., XVI. 302-315. 

2 Nombre de Dios was reached March 12, 1598, and was left on the 14th. 
See Ytinerario, entries for those days, pp. 234-235. 

3 The reference is to the exploration made by ^Vicente de Zaldivar. See 
Ytinerario, p. 234; Villagra, Historia, cantos XI.-XII. 

4 This may be a survival of the older tradition regarding the Seven Caves 
existing somewhere to the northward of Mexico. The text is evidently corrupt 
at this point. It reads, "ni las muchas poblazones que el nacimiento destos 
indios, que es el del Rio del Norte, llamada las siete quebas." 

6 Cicuye, or Pecos. 

212 




ONATE'S ROUTE TO NEW MEXICO IN 1598 AND TO THE ARKANSAS RIVER IN 1601 
From the original manuscript map in the Archives of the Indies, Seville 



LETTER OF ONATE 213 

covered in this district and neighborhood, as I shall specify 
in this letter. I wish to begin by giving your Lordship an 
account of it, because it is the first since I left New Spain. 

I departed, Illustrious Sir, from Rio de Nombre de Dios 
on the sixteenth 1 of March, with the great multitude of wagons, 
women, and children, which your Lordship very well knows, 
freed from all my opponents, but with a multitude of evil pre- 
dictions conforming to their desires and not to the goodness 
of God. His Majesty was pleased to accede to my desires, 
and to take pity on my great hardships, afflictions, and ex- 
penses, bringing me to these provinces of New Mexico with 
all his Majesty's army enjoying perfect health. 

Although I reached these provinces on the twenty-eighth 
day of May (going ahead with as many as sixty soldiers to 
pacify the land and free it from traitors, if in it there should 
be any, seizing Humana and his followers, 2 to obtain full in- 
formation, by seeing with my own eyes, regarding the location 
and nature of the land, and regarding the nature and customs 
of the people, so as to order what might be best for the army, 
which I left about twenty-two leagues from the first pueblos, 3 
after having crossed the Rio del Norte, at which river I took 
possession, 4 in the name of his Majesty, of all these kingdoms 
and pueblos 5 which I discovered before departing from it 
with scouts), the army did not overtake me at the place where 
I established it and where I now have it established, in this 
province of the Teguas, until the nineteenth 6 day of August 
of the past year. During that time I travelled through set- 
tlements sixty-one leagues in extent toward the north, and 
thirty-five in width from east to west. All this district is 
filled with pueblos, large and small, very continuous and close 
together. 

1 See note 2, p. 212. 

2 It was not yet known that Humana had been slaughtered by the Indians 
of the plains. 

3 He refers here to reaching the first pueblos above El Paso, having left the 
caravan at El Sepulcro de R-obledo. See Ytinerario, pp. 247-250; Villagra, 
Historia, canto XV. 

4 April 30, 1598. See Ytinerario, p. 242; Villagra, Historia, canto XIII., 
where the formal act of possession is printed. 

6 The text reads pueblo, but pueblos seems required to convey the sense. 
6 The Ytinerario in two places says they reached San Juan on the 18th. 



214 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

At the end of August I began to prepare the people of my 
camp for the severe winter 1 with which both the Indians and 
the nature of the land threatened me ; and the devil, who has 
ever tried to make good his great loss occasioned by our com- 
ing, plotted, as is his wont, exciting a rebellion among more 
than forty-five soldiers and captains, 2 who under pretext of 
not rinding immediately whole plates of silver lying on the 
ground, and offended because I would not permit them to 
maltreat these natives, either in their persons or in their goods, 
became disgusted with the country, or to be more exact, with 
me, and endeavored to form a gang in order to flee to that 
New Spain, as they proclaimed, although judging from what 
has since come to light their intention was directed more to 
stealing slaves and clothing and to other acts of effrontery 
not permitted. I arrested two captains and a soldier, who 
they said were guilty, in order to garrote them on this charge, 
but ascertaining that their guilt was not so great, and on 
account of my situation and of the importunate pleadings of 
the religious and of the entire army, I was forced to forego 
the punishment and let bygones be bygones. 

Although by the middle of September I succeeded in com- 
pletely calming and pacifying my camp, from this great con- 
flagration a spark was bound to remain hidden underneath 
the ashes of the dissembling countenances of four 3 of the sol- 
diers of the said coterie. These fled from me at that time, 
stealing from me part of the horses, thereby violating not 
only one but many proclamations which, regarding this matter 
and others, I had posted for the good of the land in the name 
of his Majesty. 

Since they had violated his royal orders, it appeared to 
me that they should not go unpunished; therefore I imme- 
diately sent post-haste the captain and procurator-general 
Gaspar Perez de Villagran and the captain of artillery Gero- 
nimo Marques, with an express order to follow and overtake 
them and give them due punishment. They left in the mid- 
dle of September, as I have said, thinking that they would 

*See Ytinerario, pp. 262-264. For the establishment of headquarters at 
San Juan, see Villagra, Historia, canto XVI. 

2 See Ytinerario, entries for August 20-21; Villagra, Historia, canto XVI. 

3 For the names of those who fled, see Ytinerario, entry for September 12. 



1598] LETTER OF ONATE 215 

overtake them at once, but their journey was prolonged more 
than they or I had anticipated, with the result to two of the 
offenders 1 which your Lordship already knows from the letter 
which they tell me they wrote from Sancta Barbara. The 
other two who fled from them will have received the same at 
your Lordship's hands, as is just. 

1 awaited their return and the outcome for some days, 
during which time I sent my sargento mayor to find and uti- 
lize the buffalo to the east, where he found an infinite multi- 
tude of them, and had the experience which he set forth in 
a special report. 2 Both he and the others were so long de- 
layed that, in order to lose no time, at the beginning of Oc- 
tober, this first church having been founded, wherein the 
first mass was celebrated on the 8th of September, and the 
religious having been distributed 3 in various provinces and 
doctrinas, I went in person to the province of Abo and to 
that of the Xumanas and to the large and famous salines of 
this country, which must be about twenty leagues east of 
here. 4 

From there I crossed over to the west through the prov- 
ince of Puaray to discover the South Sea, so that I might 
be able to report to your Lordship. When Captain Villagran 
arrived I took him for this purpose. 5 

What more in good time it was possible to accomplish 
through human efforts is in substance what I shall set forth 
in the following chapter. For this purpose it shall be day 
by day, and event by event, 6 especially regarding the death 
of my nephew and maese de campo, who, as my rear-guard, 
was following me to the South Sea. His process, 7 along with 

x They were beheaded. See Ytinerario, p. 265; Villagra, Historic,, canto 
XVI. 

2 The reference is to Zaldivar's report printed hereinafter. See pp. 223- 
232. Villagra treats this expedition in his Historia, canto XVII. 

3 The pueblos were assigned to the friars on the 9th, and the missionaries 
went to their new posts within the next few days (Ytinerario, pp. 264-266). 

4 A special account of the journey is printed hereinafter, pp. 233-238. See 
also Ytinerario, pp. 266-267 ; Villagra, Historia, canto XVII. 

5 See Ytinerario, entry for December 5 ; Villagra, Historia, canto XIX. 

6 The reference here is apparently to the Ytinerario. 

7 Villagra, Historia, canto XXV., recounts the proceso. A transcript of it 
is in the Ayer Collection. 



216 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

many other papers, I am sending to your Lordship. To des- 
patch them earlier has been impossible. I have, then, dis- 
covered and seen up to the present the following provinces : 

The province of the Piguis, 1 which is the one encountered 
in coming from that New Spain; the province of the Xu- 
manas; the province of the Cheguas, which we Spaniards 
call Puaray; the province of the Cheres; the province of 
the Trias ; the province of the Emmes ; the province of the 
Teguas; the province of the Picuries; the province of the 
Taos ; the province of the Peccos ; the province of Abbo and 
the salines ; 2 the province of Juni ; and the province of Mo- 
hoce. 

These last two are somewhat apart from the rest, towards 
the west, and are the places where we recently discovered 
the rich mines, as is attested by the papers which your Lord- 
ship will see there. I could not 3 work or improve these 
mines because of the death of my maese de campo, Joan de 
Zaldivar, and of the rectification of the results of it, which 
I completed at the end of last month. 4 Nor could I com- 
plete my journey to the South Sea, which was the purpose 
with which I went to the said provinces, leaving my camp 
in this province of the Teguas, whence I am now writing. 

There must be in this province and in the others above- 
mentioned, to make a conservative estimate, seventy thou- 
sand 5 Indians, settled after our custom, house adjoining 
house, with square plazas. They have no streets, and in the 
pueblos, which contain many plazas or wards, one goes from 
one plaza to the other through alleys. They are of two and 
three stories, of an estado 6 and a half or an estado and a third 

1 1 do not know what tribe this was. For each of the other tribes listed 
in this paragraph, see Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, under the follow- 
ing names : Jumano, Tigua, Keres, Sia, Jemez, Tewa, Picuris, Taos, Pecos, Abo, 
Zuni, Moqui (or Hopi). 

2 See Ofiate's relation, pp. 233-238. 

3 The text here reads "puede," which seems to be a misprint for "pude." 

4 He refers to the punishment of the pueblo and the investigation of the 
uprising. See Villagra, Historia, cantos XXV., XXVII. , XXXIII. ; Ytinerario, 
pp. 270-272. 

B An exaggerated estimate, no doubt. For actual figures at different dates 
see Hodge, Handbook, II. 325. 

6 An estado is a unit equivalent to the height of a man. 



1598] LETTER OF OftATE 217 

each, which latter is not so common; and some houses are 
of four, five, six, and seven stories. Even whole pueblos 
dress in very highly colored cotton mantas, white or black, 
and some of thread — very good clothes. Others wear buf- 
falo hides, of which there is a great abundance. They have 
most excellent wool, of whose value I am sending a small 
example. 

It is a land abounding in flesh of buffalo, goats with hide- 
ous horns, and turkeys ; and in Mohoce there is game of all 
kinds. There are many wild and ferocious beasts, lions, bears, 
wolves, tigers, penicas, ferrets, porcupines, and other animals, 
whose hides they tan and use. Towards the west there 
are bees and very white honey, of which I am sending a 
sample. Besides, there are vegetables, a great abundance 
of the best and greatest salines in the world, and a very great 
many kinds of very rich ores, as I stated above. Some dis- 
covered near here do not appear so, although we have hardly 
begun to see anything of the much there is to be seen. There 
are very fine grape vines, rivers, forests of many oaks, and 
some cork trees, fruits, melons, grapes, watermelons, Cas- 
tilian plums, capuli, pine-nuts, acorns, ground-nuts, and cora- 
lejo, which is a delicious fruit, and other wild fruits. There 
are many and very good fish in this Rio del Norte, and in 
others. From the ores here are made all the colors which we 
use, and they are very fine. 

The people are in general very comely; their color is 
like those of that land, and they are much like them in man- 
ner and dress, in their grinding, in their food, dancing, sing- 
ing, and many other things, except in their languages, which 
are many, and different from those there. Their religion 
consists in worshipping idols, of which they have many ; and 
in their temples, after their own manner, they worship them 
with fire, painted reeds, feathers, and universal offering of 
almost everything they get, such as small animals, birds, 
vegetables, etc. In their government they are free, for al- 
though they have some petty captains, they obey them 
badly and in very few things. 

We have seen other nations such as the Querechos, 1 or 
herdsmen, who five in tents of tanned hides, among the buf- 

1 See p. 183, note 3, above. 



218 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

falo. The Apaches, of whom we have also seen some, are 
innumerable, and although I heard that they lived in ran- 
cherias, a few days ago I ascertained that they live like these 
in pueblos, one of which, eighteen leagues from here, con- 
tains fifteen plazas. 1 They are a people whom I have com- 
pelled to render obedience to His Majesty, although not by 
means of legal instruments like the rest of the provinces. 
This has caused me much labor, diligence, and care, long 
journeys, with arms on the shoulders, and not a little watching 
and circumspection ; indeed, because my maese de campo was 
not as cautious as he should have been, they killed him with 
twelve companions in a great pueblo and fortress called 
Acoma, which must contain about three thousand Indians. 
As punishment for its crime and its treason against his Maj- 
esty, to whom it had already rendered submission by a public 
instrument, and as a warning to the rest, I razed and burned 
it completely, in the way in which your Lordship will see by 
the process of this cause. All these provinces, pueblos, and 
peoples, I have seen with my own eyes. 

There is another nation, that of the Cocoyes, 2 an innu- 
merable people with huts and agriculture. Of this nation and 
of the large settlements at the source of the Rio del Norte 
and of those to the northwest and west and towards the 
South Sea, I have numberless reports, and pearls of remark- 
able size from the said sea, and assurance that there is an 
infinite number of them on the coast of this country. 3 And 
as to the east, a person in my camp, an Indian who speaks 
Spanish and is one of those who came with Humana, has 
been in the pueblo of the said herdsmen. 4 It is nine contin- 

1 I know of no permanent Apache settlement which would correspond to 
the one here described. 

2 Cicuye, or Pecos. 

8 Extended notice of pearls in the South Sea was brought back from Arizona 
by Farfan. See post, pp. 245-246. 

4 The Indian Jusephe, who had been with Humana and had made his way 
back to New Mexico, declared among other things that he had been in the 
pueblo of the Vaqueros. He did not give the distance from Pecos to the pueblo 
("Relation que di6 un indio de la salida que hicieron Umafia y leyba del Nuevo 
Mexico," MS.). The next statement might be taken to mean that Zaldivar 
had been to the pueblo described by Jusephe. See Zaldivar's account of his 
journey to the buffalo country, p. 224, below. 



1598] LETTER OF OXATE 219 

uous leagues in length and two in width, with streets and 
houses consisting of huts. 1 It is situated in the midst of 
the multitude of buffalo, which are so numerous that my 
sargento mayor, who himted them and brought back their 
hides, meat, tallow, and siiet, asserts that in one herd alone 
he saw more than there are of our cattle in the combined 
three ranches of Rodrigo del Rio, 2 Salvago, and Jeronimo 
Lopez, which are famed in those regions. 

I should never cease were I to recount mdividually all of 
the many things which occur to me. I can only say that 
with God's help I shall see them all, and give new worlds, 
new, peaceful, and grand, 3 to his Majesty, greater than the 
good Marquis 4 gave to him, although he did so much, if 
you. Illustrious Sir, will give to me the aid, the protection, 
and the help which I expect from such a hand. And although 
I confess that I am crushed at having been so out of favor 
when I left that country, and although a soul frightened by 
disfavor usually loses hope and despairs of success, it is 
nevertheless true that I never have and never shall lose hope 
of receiving many and very great favors at the hand of your 
Lordship, especially in matters of such importance to his 
Majesty. And in order that you, Illustrious Sir, may be in- 
clined to render them to me, I beg that you take note of 
the great increase which the royal crown and the rents of his 
Majesty have and will have in this land, with so many and 
such a variety of things, each one of which promises very 
great treasures. I shall only note these four, omitting the 
rest as being well known and common: 

First, the great wealth which the mines have begun to 
reveal and the great number of them in this land, whence 
proceed the royal fifths and profits. Second, the certainty 
of the proximity 5 of the South Sea, whose trade with Pirn, 
Xew Spain, and China is not to be depreciated, for it will 
give birth in time to advantageous and continuous duties, 
because of its close proximity, particularly to China and to 
that land. And what I emphasize in this matter as worthy 

1 Xacales. - Evidently the official by this name mentioned on p. 139. 

3 The word in the text is ''ganados," which must be a miscopy for "grandes." 
* Cortes, the Marquis of the Valley. 
5 The text reads "cercana," which seems to be a miscopy for "cercania." 



220 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

of esteem is the traffic in pearls, reports of which are so cer- 
tain, as I have stated, and of which we have had ocular ex- 
perience from the shells. Third, the increase of vassals and 
tributes, which will increase not only the rents, but his renown 
and dominion as well, if it be possible that for our king these can 
increase. Fourth, the wealth of the abundant salines, and of 
the mountains of brimstone, 1 of which there is a greater 
quantity than in any other province. Salt is the universal 
article of traffic of all these barbarians and their regular 
food, for they even eat or suck it alone as we do sugar. These 
four things appear as if dedicated solely to his Majesty. I 
will not mention the founding of so many republics, the 
many offices, their quittances, vacancies, provisions, etc., the 
wealth of the wool and hides of buffalo, and many other 
things, clearly and well known, or, judging from the general 
nature of the land, the certainty of wines and oils. 

In view, then, Illustrious Sir, of things of such honor, 
profit, and value, and of the great prudence, magnanimity, 
and nobility of your Lordship, who in all matters is bound 
to prosper me and overcome the ill fortune of my disgrace, 
I humbly beg and supplicate, since it is of such importance 
to the service of God and of his Majesty, that the greatest 
aid possible be sent to me, both for settling and pacifying, 
your Lordship giving 2 your favor, mind, zeal, and life for 
the conservation, progress, and increase of this land, through 
the preaching of the holy gospel and the founding of this 
republic, giving liberty and favor to all, opening wide the 
door to them, and, if it should be necessary, even ordering 
them to come to serve their king in so honorable and profit- 
able a matter, in a land so abundant and of such great be- 
ginnings of riches. I call them beginnings, for although we 
have seen much, we have not yet made a beginning in com- 
parison with what there is to see and enjoy. And if the num- 
ber should exceed five hundred men, they all would be needed, 
especially married men, who are the solid rock on which new 
republics are permanently founded; and noble people, of whom 

1 The Itinerary mentions deposits of piedra azufre at Xemez. It is perhaps 
to these that Onate refers. 

2 The participle "dando" is ambiguous, but from what follows the subject 
seems to be "your Lordship." 



1598] LETTER OF ONATE 221 

there is such a surplus there. Particularly do I beg your 
Lordship to give a license to my daughter Mariquita, for whom 
I am sending, and to those of my relatives who may wish so 
honorably to end their lives. 

For my part, I have sunk my ships and have furnished 
an example to all as to how they ought to spend their wealth 
and their lives and those of their children and relatives in 
the service of their king and lord, on whose account and 
in whose name I beg your Lordship to order sent to me six 
small cannon 1 and some powder, all of which will always be 
at the service of his Majesty, as is this and everything else. 
Although on such occasions the necessities increase, and al- 
though under such circumstances as those in which I now 
find myself others are wont to exaggerate, 2 I prefer to suffer 
from lack of necessities rather than to be a burden to his 
Majesty or to your Lordship, feeling assured that I shall 
provide them for many poor people who may look to me 
if your Lordship will grant the favor, which I ask, of sending 
them to me. 

To make this request of you, Illustrious Sir, I am send- 
ing the best qualified persons whom I have in my camp, for 
it is but reasonable that such should go on an errand of such 
importance to the service of God and his Majesty, in which 
they risk their health and life, looking lightly upon the great 
hardships which they must suffer and have suffered. Father 
Fray Alonso Martinez, apostolic commissary of these prov- 
inces of New Mexico, is the most meritorious person with 
whom I have had any dealings, and of the kind needed by 
such great kingdoms for their spiritual government. Con- 
cerning this I am writing to his Majesty, and I shall be greatly 
favored if your Lordship will do the same. I believe your 
Lordship is under a loving obligation to do this, both be- 
cause the said Father Commissary is your client as well as 
because of the authority of his person and of the merits of 
his worthy life, of which I am sending to his Majesty a spe- 
cial report, which your Lordship will see if you desire, and to 
which I refer. In his company 3 goes my cousin, Father 

1 "Piecezuelas pequenas 6 esmerilejos." 

2 The text has "muchos los," where "muchas las" seems to be required. 
8 "En su compafiero" evidently should be "en su companfa." 



222 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

Fray Cristobal de Salazar, concerning whom testimony can 
be given by his prelate, for in order not to appear an inter- 
ested witness in my own cause I refrain from saying what I 
could say with much reason and truth. For all spiritual 
matters I refer you to the said fathers, whom I beg your 
Lordship to credit in every respect as you would credit me 
in person. I say but little to your Lordship as to your cred- 
iting them as true priests of my father Saint Francis. With 
such as these may your Lordship swell these your kingdoms, 
for there is plenty for them to do. 

For temporal matters go such honorable persons as Cap- 
tain and Procurator-general Gaspar Perez de Villagran, cap- 
tain of the guard, Marcos Farfan de los Godos, and Captain 
Joan Pinero, to whom I refer you, as also to the many papers 
which they carry. 1 In them your Lordship will find authen- 
tic information regarding all that you may desire to learn 
of this country of yours. 

I remain as faithful to you, Illustrious Sir, as those who 
most protest. Your interests will always be mine, for the 
assurance and confidence which my faithfulness gives me is 
an evidence that in past undertakings I have found in your 
Lordship true help and love ; for although when I left I did 
not deserve to receive the cedula from my king dated April 2, 
I shall deserve to receive it now that I know that I have 
served him so well. 

And in order to satisfy his royal conscience and for the 
safety of the creatures who were preserved at Acoma, I send 
them to your Lordship with the holy purpose which the Father 
Commissary will explain, for I know it is so great a service 
to God that I consider very well employed the work and 
expense which I have spent in the matter. And I do not 
expect a lesser reward for your Lordship on account of the 
prayers of those few days. Honor it, Illustrious Sir, for it 
redounds to the service of God. May He prosper and exalt 
you to greater offices. In His divine service, which is the 
highest and greatest I can name, I again beg for the aid re- 
quested, much, good, and speedy — priests as well as settlers 
and soldiers. 

1 The papers clearly were those printed hereinafter, pp. 223-249. 



ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE 
BUFFALO, 1599 * 

The sargento mayor Vicente de Saldivar Mendoca, the 
-proveedor general Diego de Cubia, Captain Aguilar, and other 
captains and soldiers, to the number of sixty, set out from 
camp 2 for the cattle herds on the 15th day of September, 3 
well provided with many droves of mares and other supplies. 
They reached the Pecos River on the 18th and set out from 
there on the 20th, leaving Father Fray Francisco de San 
Miguel of the Order of San Francisco as prelate of that prov- 
ince, and Juan de Dios, lay brother and interpreter of that 
tongue. That province is the one Espejo named Tamas, 4 
from which came a certain Indian named Don Pedro Oros, 
who died in Tlanepantla under control and instruction of 
the friars of San Francisco. 

Having travelled four leagues they reached the place 
called Las Ciruelas, where there are very great quantities 
of Castilian plums, Almonacid plums of Cordoba. 5 On the 
following day they travelled five more leagues, finding water 
after going three leagues, although they camped for the night 
without it. Next day they travelled two leagues to a small 

1 "Relaciones que envio Don Juan de Ofiate de algunas jornadas," ff. 1-7 
(manuscript in Lowery Collection, Library of Congress). 

2 At San Juan de los Caballeros. Villagra gives an account of this expedi- 
tion in cantos XVL-XVIL He says that Zaldivar went to discover "the main 
herd of the cattle" (fol. 145). 

3 The Ytinerario states that Father San Miguel and the Zaldivar party 
set out on September 16. See entry of that date. 

4 See Espejo's narrative, p. 192, above. 

6 "Ciruela almonaci de la cordoba." Almonacid de Toledo is a village in 
Spain twelve miles southeast of Toledo. Almonacid de Zorita is a village in 
Spain nineteen miles southeast of Guadalajara. Both are in Castile. The 
Indian Joseph declared that five or six leagues beyond the Pecos the Humana 
party had encountered a great quantity of plums. This is an indication that 
Zaldivar went by the same route. ("Relacion que dio un indio.") See Villagra, 
Historia, canto XVI., fol. 45. 

223 



224 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

stream 1 carrying but little water but containing a prodigious 
quantity of excellent fish, pilchard, sardines, prawn, shrimp, 
and matalote. That night five hundred catfish were caught 
with only a fishhook, and many more on the following day. 2 
At that place four Indian herdsmen 3 came to see him; they 
ordered that the Indians be given food and presents. One 
of them arose and with a loud voice called many Indians 
who were hidden and they all came to where the Spaniards 
were. They are powerful people and expert bowmen. The 
sargento mayor gave presents to all and won them over. He 
asked them for a guide to the cattle and they furnished one 
very willingly. 

Next day they travelled six leagues and reached some rain 
water. There three Indians came out from a mountain, and, 
being asked where their rancheria was, they said that it was 
a league from there, and that they were very much excited 
because of our being in that land. In order that they might 
not become more excited by many people going, the sargento 
mayor went to their rancheria with but one companion, tell- 
ing the three Indians to go ahead and quiet the people, and 
that he wished only to go and see them and to be their friend. 
He told them by means of an interpreter whom he had with 
him, named Jusepillo, one of the Indians who had been brought 
by Humayna and Leyba, and who had gone with them to a 
very great river to the east, in the direction of Florida. We 
all understand this to be the famous Rio de la Magdalena 4 
which flows into Florida, and that this was the route followed 
by Dorantes, Cabeca de Vaca, and the negro who came thence 

1 They were now eleven leagues — twenty-five or thirty miles — from Pecos. 
The stream was probably the Gallinas, near Las Vegas. 

2 The names here given by the writer to the fish evidently were incorrect 
in some cases. Villagra says they caught forty arrobas — a thousand pounds — 
of fish in less than three hours, with hooks only. Historia, canto XVI., fol. 145. 

3 Vaqueros. 

4 The name Magdalena is given on the Martinez map to what is clearly the 
Canadian. Saldivar probably referred to the large river beyond the Arkansas 
reached by Humana. The name Magdalena as applied to a stream flowing into 
the Gulf of Mexico dates from the Narvaez expedition, in 1528. When at Aute 
(identified by Lowery as at St. Mark's, Florida), Narvaez decided to go to the 
sea, whose proximity was suspected "from a great river to which we had given 
the name of the Rio de la Magdalena" (The Journey of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de 
Vaca, Bandelier edition, p. 33). The only large stream in that vicinity is the 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE BUFFALO 225 

to this land and to the rancherias and mountains of the 
Patarabueyes. 

When he was about three-quarters of a league from his 
camp a great number of people came out to meet him, by 
fours and sixes. They asked for the Spaniards' friendship, 
their method of making the request being to extend the palm 
of the right hand to the sun and then to bring it down on 
the person whose friendship they desire. He made them 
presents also, and they importuned him to go to their ran- 
cheria, and although evening was approaching he had to 
comply so that they would not think he was afraid to go. 
He reached the rancheria and remained with them in great 
friendliness, returning to his camp very late at night. 

Next day as he travelled many Indians and Indian women 
came out to meet him, bringing pinole. 1 Most of the men go 
naked, but some are clothed with skins of buffalo and some 
with blankets. The women wear a sort of trousers made of 
buckskin, and shoes or leggins, after their own fashion. He 
gave them some presents and told them by means of the in- 
terpreter that Governor Don Juan de Onate had sent him 
that they might know that he could protect those who were 
loyal to his Majesty and punish those who were not. All 
were friendly and very well pleased. They asked him for 
aid against the Xumanas, 2 as they call a tribe of Indians who 
are painted after the manner of the Chichimecos. 3 The sar- 
gento mayor promised them that he would endeavor to insure 
peace to them, since he had come to this land for that purpose. 

Bidding them goodby, he left that place and travelled 
ten more leagues in three days, at the end of which time he 
saw the first buffalo bull, 4 which, being rather old, wandered 
alone and ran but little. This produced much merriment 
and was regarded as a great joke, for the least one in the 

Apalachicola, which it may have been. The name was later applied to various 
streams farther west, probably with reference to the stream mentioned by Cabeza 
de Vaca. See Lowery, Spanish Settlements, 1513-1561, p. 186 ; Winsor, Narra- 
tive and Critical History, II. 288. 

1 See Espejo, narrative, p. 178, above. 

2 Jumano. See p. 172, note 2. 

3 See Bustamante's declaration, p. 145, note 4. 

4 The party had now travelled twenty-seven leagues, or perhaps seventy-five 
miles, from Pecos. 



226 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

company would not be satisfied with less than ten thousand 
head of cattle in his own corral. 

Shortly afterward more than three hundred buffalo were 
seen in some pools. During the next day they travelled about 
seven leagues, when they encountered as many as a thousand 
head of cattle. In that place there were found very good 
facilities for the construction of a corral with wings. Orders 
having been given for its construction, the cattle went inland 
more than eight leagues. Upon seeing this the sargento mayor 
went on ahead with ten of his soldiers to a river six leagues 
from there, which flows from the province of the Picuries and 
the snow-covered range where they are, 1 and where the guide 
had told him that there were great numbers of cattle. But 
when he reached the river the cattle had left, because just 
then many Indian herdsmen crossed it, coming from trading 
with the Picuries and Taos, populous pueblos of this New 
Mexico, where they sell meat, hides, tallow, suet, and salt in 
exchange for cotton blankets, pottery, maize, and some small 
green stones 2 which they use. 

He camped for the night at that river, and on the follow- 
ing day, on his way back to the camp, he found a rancheria 
in which there were fifty tents made of tanned hides, very 
bright red and white in color and bell-shaped, with flaps and 
openings, and built as skilfully as those of Italy and so large 
that in the most ordinary ones four different mattresses and 
beds were easily accommodated. The tanning is so fine that 
although it should rain bucketfuls it will not pass through nor 
stiffen the hide, but rather upon drying it remains as soft and 
pliable as before. This being so wonderful, he wanted to ex- 
periment, and, cutting off a piece of hide from one of the tents, 
it was soaked and placed to diy in the sun, but it remained 
as before, and as pliable as if it had never been wet. 3 The 
sargento mayor bartered for a tent and brought it to this camp, 

1 They were now forty leagues — a hundred miles or more — from Pecos, and 
the river must have been the Canadian, near Alamosa. It issues from the 
Sangre de Cristo Mountains. 

2 Chalehiquitillos. For an account of this trade see Espejo documents {ante) 
and Benavides, "Memorial," translation in Land of Sunshine, vols. XIII., XIV. 

3 Villagra makes almost exactly the same statement, indicating that he wrote 
from this account (Historia, canto XVII. , fol. 151). 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE BUFFALO 227 

and although it was so very large, as has been stated, it did 
not weigh over two arrobas. 1 

To carry this load, the poles that they use to set it up, 
and a knapsack of meat and their pinole, or maize, the Indians 
use a medium-sized shaggy dog, which is their substitute for 
mules. They drive great trains of them. Each, girt round its 
breast and haunches, and carrying a load of flour of at least 
one hundred pounds, travels as fast as his master. It is a 
sight worth seeing and very laughable to see them travelling, 
the ends of the poles dragging on the ground, nearly all of 
them snarling in their encounters, travelling one after another 
on their journey. 2 In order to load them the Indian women 
seize their heads between their knees and thus load them, or 
adjust the load, which is seldom required, because they travel 
along at a steady gait as if they had been trained by means 
of reins. 

Having returned to camp they had a holiday that day 
and the next, as it was the feast of Senor San Francisco, and 
on the 5th of October they continued their march so as to 
reach the main herd of the cattle. In three days they trav- 
elled fourteen leagues, at the end of which they found and 
killed many cattle. Next day they went three more leagues 
farther in search of a convenient and suitable site for a corral, 
and upon finding a place they began to construct it out of 
large pieces of cottonwood. 3 It took them three days to 
complete it. It was so large and the wings so long that they 
thought they could corral ten thousand head of cattle, be- 
cause they had seen so many, during those days, wandering 
so near to the tents and houses. In view of this and of the fur- 
ther fact that when they run they act as though fettered, they 
took their capture for granted. It was declared by those who 
had seen them that in that place alone there were more buffalo 

1 An arroba is twenty-five pounds. 

2 This is an excellent description of the travois. See also Castaneda, in 
Winship, The Coronado Expedition, p. 527. 

3 They were now fifty-one leagues, or perhaps from one hundred and twenty- 
five to one hundred and forty miles from Pecos. This took them near to, if not 
beyond, the borders of New Mexico. Since they found cottonwood timber, they 
must have been near a stream, which, I infer, was the Canadian. Details of the 
construction of the corral are given by Villagra, Historia, canto XVII., folios 
150-151. 



228 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

than there are cattle in three of the largest ranches in new 
Spain. 1 

The corral constructed, they went next day to a plain 
where on the previous afternoon about a hundred thousand 
cattle had been seen. Giving them the right of way, the cat- 
tle started very nicely towards the corral, but soon they 
turned back in a stampede towards the men, and, rushing 
through them in a mass, it was impossible to stop them, be- 
cause they are cattle terribly obstinate, courageous beyond 
exaggeration, and so cunning that if pursued they run, and that 
if their pursuers stop or slacken their speed they stop and 
roll, just like mules, and with this respite renew their run. 
For several days they tried a thousand ways of shutting them 
in or of surrounding them, but in no manner was it possible 
to do so. This was not due to fear, for they are remark- 
ably savage and ferocious, so much so that they killed three 
of our horses and badly wounded forty, for their horns are 
very sharp and fairly long, about a span and a half, and 
bent upward together. They attack from the side, putting 
the head far down, so that whatever they seize they tear very 
badly. Nevertheless, some were killed and over eighty arro- 
bas 2 of tallow were secured, which without doubt is greatly 
superior to that from pork ; the meat of the bull is superior 
to that of our cow, and that of the cow equals our most tender 
veal or mutton. 

Seeing therefore that the full grown cattle could not be 
brought alive, the sargento mayor ordered that calves be cap- 
tured, but they became so enraged that out of the many 
which were being brought, some dragged by ropes and others 
upon the horses, not one got a league toward the camp, for 
they all died within about an hour. Therefore it is believed 
that unless taken shortly after birth and put under the care 
of our cows or goats, they cannot be brought until the cattle 
become tamer than they now are. 

Its shape and form are so marvellous and laughable, or 
frightful, that the more one sees it the more one desires to 
see it, and no one could be so melancholy that if he were to 

1 Three such are specified in Onate's letter, p. 219. It is evidently from here 
that Onate gets his information. 

2 This would be more than a ton. 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE BUFFALO 229 

see it a hundred times a day he could keep from laughing 
heartily as many times, or could fail to marvel at the sight of 
so ferocious an animal. Its horns are black, and a third of a 
vara long, as already stated, and resemble those of the bufalo; 1 
its eyes are small, its face, snout, feet, and hoofs of the same 
form as of our cows, with the exception that both the male and 
female are very much bearded, similar to he-goats. They are 
so thickly covered with wool that it covers their eyes and face, 
and the forelock nearly envelops their horns. This wool, 
which is long and very soft, extends almost to the middle of 
the body, but from there on the hair is shorter. Over the 
ribs they have so much wool and the chine is so high that they 
appear humpbacked, although in reality and in truth they are 
not greatly so, for the hump easily disappears when the hides 
are stretched. 

In general, they are larger than our cattle. Their tail is 
like that of a hog, being very short, and having few bristles 
at the tip, and they twist it upward when they run. At the 
knee they have natural garters of very long hair. In their 
haunches, which resemble those of mules, they are hipped and 
crippled, and they therefore run, as already stated, in leaps, 
especially down hill. They are all of the same dark color, 
somewhat tawny, in parts their hair being almost black. 
Such is their appearance, which at sight is far more ferocious 
than the pen can depict. As many of these cattle as are de- 
sired can be killed and brought to these settlements, which 
are distant from them thirty or forty leagues, but if they 
are to be brought alive it will be most difficult unless 
time and crossing them with those from Spain make them 
tamer. 2 

In this region and on this road were found some camps 
and sleeping places made by Leyba and Humana when they 
left this land, fleeing from the men who were coming from New 
Spain to arrest them. 3 

1 That is, the Asiatic buffalo, or wild ox. 

2 The copy has aman, where amansen seems to be intended. 

3 Noting this statement in Zaldivar's declaration, Onate had him make a 
more explicit statement under oath, on February 17, 1599, and attached it to 
the declaration of Jusephe (see p. 201). He states that the first camping place 
of Humana was encountered about twenty-four leagues from San Juan Baptista, 



230 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

These cattle have their haunts on some very level mesas 1 
which extend over many leagues, for, after reaching the top 
of them by a slight grade, as of low hills, thirty leagues were 
travelled, continuously covered with an infinite number of 
cattle, and the end of them was not reached. The mesas have 
neither mountain, nor tree, nor shrub, and when on them they 
were guided solely by the sun. To the north in their highest 
part flows a medium-sized river, which appears to be a marvel, 
for at that point it is higher than at its source, and seems 
rather to flow up than down. It contains many fish and 
crustaceans. At the base of these mesas, in some places 
where there are glens or valleys, there are many cedars, and 
an infinite number of springs which issue from these very 
mesas, and a half league from them there are large cotton 
groves. 

The Indians are numerous in all that land. They live in 
rancherias in the hide tents hereinbefore mentioned. They 
always follow the cattle, and in their pursuit they are as well 
sheltered in their tents as they could be in any house. They 
eat meat almost raw, and much tallow and suet, which serves 
them as bread, and with a chunk of meat in one hand and a 
piece of tallow in the other, they bite first on one and then on 
the other, and grow up magnificently strong and courageous. 
Their weapons consist of flint and very large bows, after the 
manner of the Turks. They saw some arrows with long thick 
points, 2 although few, for the flint is better than spears to 
kill cattle. They kill them at the first shot with the great- 
est skill, while ambushed in brush blinds made at the water- 
ing places, as all saw who went there, and who in company 
with the said sargento mayor consumed in the journey fifty- 
four days and returned to this camp on the 8th of November, 
1598, thanks be to God. 

In the pueblo of San Juan Baptista, on the 23d day of the 

and the second about thirty-six leagues further on. He based his opinion 
on the statement of Jusephe, who went with them as a guide and interpreter 
("Relacion que dio un indio de la salida que hicieron Umana y leyba del nuevo 
Mexico"). 

1 A mesa is a tableland. The term is commonly used in the Southwest, 
and stands for a definite natural feature. 

2 He evidently means the spear. 



1599] DISCOVERY OF THE BUFFALO 231 

month of February, 1599, before Don Juan de Oiiate, governor, 
captain-general, and adelantado of the provinces and kingdoms 
of New Mexico, conqueror, settler, and pacifier of these lands 
for the king our lord, etc., Vicente de Saldivar Mendoga, 
sargento mayor, captain, and commander of the companies of 
the said kingdoms and army of his Majesty, presented this 
account of the journey which he made by order of his Lord- 
ship to the buffalo ; and the said Senor governor, in order that 
to his Majesty and his audiencias and viceroys it may be evi- 
dent and known that it is all true, ordered that it all be read 
to some of the captains and soldiers who went with the said 
sargento mayor and who were present, and that they all should 
respond and sign with their hands. For this purpose the said 
governor had them all take oath in the name of God and by the 
sign of the cross, in legal form. They did so, and promised 
to tell the truth. They were the said sargento mayor, Vicente 
Saldivar de Mendoga, the Proveedor and Captain Diego de 
Qubia, Captain Pablo de Aguilar Inojosa, Captain Marcelo 
de Espinosa, Ensign Domingo de Licama, Marcos Cortes, 
Juan de Pedraga, Alonso Sanchez, Hernando Inojosa, Esteban 
de Sosa, Juan de Olague, Juan de Salas, Diego Robledo, and 
Diego de Ayerde. To all of them, as has been said, I, the 
undersigned secretary, read the foregoing account word for 
word, and one and all replied and said that all contained therein 
is correct and true and what happened in their presence in the 
said journey to the cattle ; and it being read to them, under 
charge of the said oath which all had taken, they ratified it, 
and those who knew how signed it, they being those whose 
signatures appear herein. And I, the said secretary, testify 
that all the foregoing took place before me and was witnessed 
by the contador of the Real Hacienda, Juan Ortiz, Juan Velas- 
ques de Cavanillas, and other persons, Don Juan de Onate, 
Vicente de Saldivar Mendoca, Diego de Qubia, Pablo de 
Aguilar Inojosa, Marcello de Espinosa, Domingo de Licama, 
Alonso Sanchez, Esteban de Sosa, Juan de Pedraga, Diego 
Robledo, Juan de Salas. Before me, Juan Gutierrez Boca- 
negra, secretary. And I, the said Juan Gutierrez Bocane- 
gra, captain for the king our lord and government secretary 
of New Mexico and of its kingdoms and provinces, was 
present at the aforesaid with the said governor, who herein 



232 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1599 

signed his name; and upon his order I made this copy, 
which is correct and true, and has been corrected by the origi- 
nal, which remains in my possession. In witness whereof I 
signed it. 

Juan Gutierrez Bocanegra, secretary. 



ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE 

SALINES, THE XUMANAS, AND 

THE SEA, 1599 1 

Account of the Journey which they made to the Sea and of the 
Visit to the Salines and the Xumanas. 2 

On the 6th of October in the year of '98 the governor set 
out from this pueblo of San Juan, province of the Teguas. 3 
On the first day we travelled four leagues, to the first pueblo 
of the Canada 4 de los Teguas ; on the next day six leagues 
to San Marcos ; 5 on the following day six leagues to the Pueblo 
del Tuerto ; 6 on the next, two leagues to the first pueblo over 
the mountain, last pueblo of Puaray; next day five leagues 
to the first pueblo of the salines; 7 next day four leagues 

1 "Relaciones que envio Don Juan de Ofiate de algunas jornadas," ff. 
7-10 (manuscript in Lowery Collection). 

2 Villagra gives an account of this journey in his Historia, canto XVIII. 

3 Tewa, Tehua. 

4 Apparently one of the Tewa pueblos in the group to which Santa Cruz 
de la Canada belonged. But as Santa Cruz is only some four miles southward 
of San Juan, the pueblo reached by Ofiate would seem to be farther south. See 
Hodge, Handbook, II. 458 ; Bandelier, Final Report, I. 82-83. 

5 Shown on the Martinez map as no. 27. The ruins of San Marcos are 
eighteen miles south-southwest of Santa Fe. The place here mentioned may 
have been the same. See Hodge, Handbook, II. 448. 

6 The town of the Crooked or Twisted. This name is still borne by the 
Rio Tuerto, a small stream entering the Rio Grande opposite San Felipe, and by 
mountains in the same general region. Rio Tuerto affords a pass through the 
mountains through which runs an old trail from Albuquerque to Galisteo. In 
this pass along the trail was the place called Tuerto. For a discussion of pueblo 
ruins about Galisteo see Bandelier, Final Report, I. 100-106. 

7 The salines lie near the Manzano Mountains, in eastern Valencia County. 
To the southeast of them is the Mesa de los Jumanos. The saline country was 
inhabited in the early seventeenth century by Tigua, Piro, and Jumano villages 
(see Hodge, The Jumano Indians, pp. 8-9; Bandelier, Final Report, I. 167). 
The salines are evidently the same as those visited by the Chamuscado party. 

233 



234 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

to the last pueblo of the salines, or Gallinas. 1 We remained 
there three days and visited the salines which lie to the east 
five or six leagues from there. They consist of white salt; 
there are many very large and good ones, and they are seven 
or eight leagues in circumference. Next day we went three 
leagues to the pueblo of Abbo, 2 and the next day four leagues 
to the Xumanas. 3 There are three pueblos, one of them large 
like Cia 4 and two small ones. The said pueblos of the salines 
and the Xumanas all rendered obedience to his Majesty. 

From this point his lordship decided to go to the sea, and 
therefore on the following day we came from there to the 
second pueblo of Abbo, a league and a half. The next day we 
returned to the last pueblo of the said Gallinas and then to 
the first pueblo of the Gallinas or salines; next day to the 
pueblo of the Portecuelo ; next day seven leagues to the 
pueblo of Father Glaros, 5 where we remained two days. 

From there we set out for the pueblo of Acoma 6 towards 
the west, going four leagues to the Torrente de los Alamos. 
Midway is the Arroyo de los Mimbres. Next day seven 
leagues to the Manantial de la Barranca ; next day two leagues 
to Acoma, 7 a pueblo of five hundred houses, where the Indians 
received him very well with maize, water, and turkeys, and 
rendered obedience to his Majesty. This place is almost im- 

x The railroad station of Gallinas and Gallinas National Forest still pre- 
serve this name in the same general region. 

2 Abo was a Tompiros pueblo located in Arroyo del Empedradillo, in the 
southeastern corner of Valencia County. The ruins of the mission of San Gre- 
gorio, founded in 1629, are still there. Hodge, Handbook, I. 6. 

3 The direction from Abo to the Xumana pueblos is not clear. There were 
four instead of three Jumano pueblos in this region. See Hodge, The Jumano 
Indians, p. 8; Doc. Ined., XVI. 123-124. 

*Sia. 

5 Father Claros was assigned to the pueblo of Chiguas. See Ytinerario, 
entry for September 16. According to the "Relation de como los Padres de 
San Francisco se encargaron de las Provincias de la Nueva Mexico," the province 
of the Chiguas extended from Puaray to the Queres. That they set out west 
from Puaray, located near Bernalillo, is shown by the Ytinerario, entry for 
October 23, 1598. 

6 See Ytinerario, entry for October 23 ; Villagra, Historia, canto XVIII. 

7 Acoma is about sixty miles west of the Rio Grande. If the pueblo of 
Father Claros was on the Rio Grande, the estimate gives about five miles to the 
league. In the assignment of the pueblos to the missionaries, Tziaas, Tamaya, 
and Acco were grouped together ("Relation de como los Padres," etc.). 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE SALINES AND THE SEA 235 

pregnable, for except by climbing over the very rocks by 
holes which they have made one cannot ascend. 1 

We rested one day, and on the next we set out for the 
province of Zuni, going to the head of the river which is called 
De la Mala Nueva f next day four leagues, camping for the 
night in a forest, without water ; next day to the Agua de la 
Pena, four leagues. It snowed furiously, the horses stam- 
peded, and some were lost for good. Next day four leagues 
to a spring which flows to the province of Cuni. 3 We saw three 
ruined pueblos. The following day, which was the feast of 
All Saints, 4 three leagues to the first pueblo of the people be- 
longing to the province of Zuni, which consists of six pueblos. 
The Indians received us with a large quantity of maize, tor- 
tillas, and rabbits. Remaining here one day, on Tuesday we 
went three leagues to visit the last pueblo, which they call 
Cibola, or by another name, Granada, 5 where Francisco Vaz- 
quez Coronado nearly sixty years ago had the encounter with 
the Indians. They received us very well with maize, tortillas, 
gourds, beans, and quantities of rabbits and hares, of which 
there are a great many. They are a very amiable people and 
all rendered obedience to his Majesty. 

In all these pueblos we found crosses which the Indians 
reverence and to which they are accustomed to make the same 
offering as to their idols, which consist of flour, small sticks 
painted with different colors, and turkey feathers. The In- 
dians speak a few Mexican words, as two of Coronado's In- 
dians, now dead, had remained there. One of them, called 
Gaspar, left two sons. We saw the one named Alonso. 6 He 
spoke a few Mexican words but understood none. Each 
house there gave us a manta of istle, 7 very good cloth. 

We remained there until the 8th of November of '98 and 
during that time the governor sent Captain Farfan to see a 
saline which we heard was nine leagues from there. He re- 
turned on the third day, convinced that it must be the best 
saline in the world, and truly its salt would indicate this, for 

1 See Hodge, Ascent of the Enchanted Mesa (1898). 

2 Bad news. 3 Zuni. 4 November 1. 

5 This was the pueblo of Hawikuh. See Hodge, Handbook, II. 1017. 

6 See the Espejo documents, p. 184, above, for references to these men. 

7 Yxtle, a fibre produced from a species of pine in Mexico. 



236 NEW MEXICO: THE 0&ATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

besides being exceedingly white and of marvellous grain he 
said the saline was a league around, and that in the centre of 
it there was a spring from which the saline is engendered, 
and therefore is very salty ; that it has a depth of over a spear's 
length, and that in all this depth the salt forms a hardened 1 
crust, so that in order to extract the salt it is necessary 
to use a bar or pick-axe. Of all this, lengthy testimony was 
taken. 2 

During these days Captain Villagran arrived, 3 being 
brought in by three soldiers who had gone to round up the 
horses which the snow-storm had scattered and had found 
him almost dead at El Agua de la Pefia, without horse or arms, 
and not having eaten for two or three days, for he had lost 
everything near Acoma by falling into a pit, and only the 
mercy of God prevented his perishing as his horse had done. 
He was coming from the country of New Spain. 

From there, on the said Sunday, the 8th, we set out for 
the province of Mohoqui, 4 or Mohoje, going four leagues 
without water. It snowed all the time, for it was mid-winter. 
Next day, after travelling five leagues, we came across water 
near the road in a marsh. We camped for the night without 
water. Next day five leagues to some springs to get water, 
which was small in quantity. After travelling six leagues we 
camped for the night without water. On the following day 
we went five leagues to Mohoqui, and on the road only the 
men drank at a small spring which was underneath a rock. 
After going two leagues, at the first pueblo of Mohoqui or 
Mohoce they came out to receive us with tortillas, scattering 

1 Oxaldrada. 

2 On November 8, at the pueblo of Zufii, Farfan made a sworn statement 
regarding the saline. It was eight leagues westward of Granada, or Zufii, round 
in shape, twelve or more leagues in circumference, and composed of fine, white, 
crystallized salt. Near the edge of the saline the crust was a span thick, and 
at the centre "a good spear's length"; wagons might travel over it without 
breaking the crust. Farfan was "certain that neither in all Christendom nor 
outside of it is there anything so grand, nor has the king anything to equal it" 
("Relacion del descubrimiento de las salinas de cum"). This statement would 
place the saline well into Arizona. The Ytinerario states that it was east of 
Zufii. 

3 See Villagra's Historia, canto XIX. The Ytinerario (p. 274) mentions 
this incident as happening to Captain Marques instead of to Villagra. 

4 Moqui. 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE SALINES AND THE SEA 237 

fine flour upon us and upon our horses as a token of peace 
and friendship, and all of those provinces, which are four 
pueblos, rendered obedience to his Majesty and treated us 
very well. 

We rested there one day. Next day we travelled three 
leagues to another small pueblo. On the following day we 
spent the night at the last pueblo, four leagues distant, having 
passed through the third one. In all of them they received 
us as in the first. We rested for one day and on the following 
day we retraced the same ground, returning to the second 
pueblo of the said province. Next day we went to the first, 
where we rested three days. 

From there on Friday, November 17, because of the reports 
of the rich mines, the governor sent Captain Marcos Farfan 
de los Godos with eight companions to make the exploration. 
Then, on Saturday, we set out on the return, by the same 
marches and places, to the province of Cuni, where we awaited 
the said explorers of the mines for seventeen days; and at 
the end of twenty-one days from their departure Captain 
Farfan and Captain Alonso de Quesada returned, having left 
the other seven companions in Mohoqui, as the animals were 
worn out. They brought flattering reports 1 of the good mines 
discovered thirty leagues from the said province of Mohoqui, 
and they brought very good ores from which silver was later 
extracted by many and divers very rich assays, 2 by means of 
mercury. This infused new life into over a hundred lifeless 
residents of this camp. They are ores which can be smelted. 
The description of their route is in a separate report, on which 
I rely. 

The said Captain Farfan having returned, and the governor 
seeing the great delay of the thirty men who had gone with his 
maese de campo, Don Juan de Saldivar, and who were to over- 
take him in order to make the said journey to the South Sea, 
he having sent for them to the camp which he had estab- 
lished in the province of Teguas, he determined to return 
to the said camp to celebrate Christmas, which was near, so 
that immediately after Christmas he could make the journey 

1 They are printed hereinafter, pp. 239-249. 

2 The details concerning these assays are set forth in "Relation de los 
ensayes que se hicieron de ciertas minas," etc. 



238 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

to the sea with all the soldiers necessary. 1 Therefore, on the 
twelfth of December we left Cuni and camped for the night 
in the first pueblo of that province ; the following day at El 
Agua de la Pena, where we found Ensign Bernabe de las 
Casas, with six companions, who was going in search of his 
Lordship with the sad news of the occurrence at Acoma, 
and of the death of the above-mentioned maese de campo and 
other captains and soldiers. 2 

Next day, from that point his Lordship sent Don Tomas, 
Indian interpreter, who was the one who had remained in the 
country from Castano's expedition and who has been of great 
sendee, to inform the seven explorers who remained in Moho- 
qui of what had happened and to warn them not to come by 
way of Acoma, but to follow our trail, so that they might 
arrive safely at the camp. We made our journey directly to 
the said camp, which we reached in seven days, may God be 
praised. Amen. Don Juan de Onate. 

1 See Villagra, Eistoria, canto XIX. 

2 See Ytinerario, entry for January 7, for additional data regarding this 
incident. 






ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE 
MINES, 1599 1 

In the pueblo of Cibola, which the natives call Cuni, 2 
on the 11th day of the month of December, 1598, Don Juan 
de Onate, governor, captain-general, and adelantado of the 
kingdoms and provinces of this New Mexico, explorer, pacifier, 
and colonizer of the same for the king our Lord, said that his 
Lordship sent Marcos Farfan de los Godos, his captain of the 
guard and of the horses, with eight companions, 3 from the 
province of Mohoqui, which is twenty leagues distant from 
this one, to make a certain exploration of settlements and 
mines, which captain returned to his presence on this day to 
report his experiences on the said expedition and journey. 
And in order that this may be on record forever and a mem- 
orandum of it be had he ordered evidence taken, and that the 
said captain of the guard and his companions should testify 
under oath and give an account of all that had occurred and 
of what they had discovered. Thus he provided and ordered, 
and signed with his name. Don Juan de Onate. Before me, 
Juan Velarde, secretary. 

And after the foregoing, in the said pueblo of Cibola, on 
the 11th day of the month of December, 1598, the said Senor 
governor caused to appear before him Marcos Farfan de los 
Godos, captain of the guard, to whom oath was administered 
in the name of God our Lord and with the sign of the cross, 
in due form, and in virtue of which he promised to tell the 

1 "Relaciones que envio Don Juan de Onate de algunas jornadas," ff. 11- 
20 (manuscript in Lowery Collection). For reference to this expedition see 
Ytinerario, pp. 275-276. 

2 Zuiii. 

3 The eight companions were : Captain Alonso de Quesada, Captain Bar- 
tolome Romero, Francisco Vido, Antonio Conte de Herrera, Sargento Hernan 
Martin, Marcos Garcia, Juan Rodriguez, and Leon de Ysasti. See post, p. 248. 

239 



240 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

truth. The foregoing order 1 having been read to him, the 
witness said that he had set out 2 with the said eight compan- 
ions from the province of Mohoqui at the order of his Lord- 
ship in the month of November of this year. They travelled 
six leagues 3 towards the west through a land of sand dunes 
without timber, and where they camped for the night they 
found a small spring of water, where the horses could not 
drink, although there was plenty of water for the men. Next 
morning they set out from this place in the same direction, 
and having travelled about three leagues they found a river 4 
which flowed towards the north, of moderate width and carry- 
ing considerable water, with many cottonwoods, level banks, 
and little pasture. 

And travelling on in the same direction they reached the 
slope of a mountain range 5 in time to camp for the night, 
having gone about another [three] leagues. 6 They camped 
without water, and the next morning they set out from this 
place ; and after going two leagues they arrived at a grove of 
small pines, and at a very deep pool, 7 which was ample to 
water all the horses and more if there had been more. Trav- 
elling on for two leagues along the mountain range, which 
was covered with snow, they camped for the night on a slope 
where was found a small amount of grass for the horses. They 

1 Cabega de proceso. This is the technical name applied to the account 
and order constituting the first paragraph above. 

2 They set out on November 17. See p. 237. 

3 The Ytinerario, p. 276, gives a summary of the route to the mines, taken 
obviously from this document. Farfan's general route and the general region 
of the terminus of his route are quite clear from the topographical data given. 
The direction was west-southwest. The terminus was evidently just east or just 
west of the Big Sandy River, the indications pointing rather to the former. The 
distance covered is given by Farfan as thirty-five leagues. The air-line distance 
is about two hundred miles, and by the trails more than that. Farfan's leagues 
therefore, average about six miles. Espejo, who clearly went to the same region, 
gave the distance as forty-five leagues. 

4 The Little Colorado. 

6 The San Francisco Mountain. They passed south of this mountain, 
and apparently not far from Flagstaff. 

6 The Ytinerario supplies the omission here. 

7 Southwest of Flagstaff on one of the old trails there is a laguna, which 
may have been the place where Farfan camped. In the same general locality, 
on the old trails, there were several springs, as Antelope Spring, Volunteer Spring, 
Snively's Holes, but a study of the map points to Laguna as the place mentioned. 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE MINES 241 

camped without water. After they had unsaddled the horses 
and placed the sentinels, two of the Indians whom they were 
taking as guides said that they knew where there was water 
very near there, and that they wanted to go and bring some in 
some gourds. But the witness did not give his consent, as 
he feared they would flee unless accompanied by a trust- 
worthy person, and accordingly Captain Alonso de Quesada 
went with them. 

He took the Indians ahead of him, and after travelling 
about three arquebus shots from where we were lodged the 
Indians saw lights and dwellings, 1 and signalled to the captain 
that there were the Jumana Indians. The captain, rinding 
himself so near, told them to go over there, and having ar- 
rived there he found many Indians and Indian women in four 
or five rancherias, who surrounded them with their bows and 
arrows. The captain told them that he had a message for 
them ; that he was not coming to do them harm, but, instead, 
to give them of what he had. Thereupon they were reassured, 
and two Indian chiefs of the said rancheria came on with the 
captain and friendly Indians to where the witness and his 
companions were. The witness treated them very well, 
showing them marks of friendship, caressing them, giving them 
beads and other presents. He then sent them back to their 
own rancherias, telling them by signs that they should reassure 
the rest of the people, because they were not going to injure 
them but to be their friends, and to find out where they secured 
the ore which the witness showed them. 

Next morning the witness and his companions went to 
the said rancheria, 2 which he found deserted, there being in 
it only the two chiefs and a woman. They received him with 
signs of gladness, and as a token of peace gave them pulver- 
ized ore and a great quantity of ground dates, 3 which is their 
food, and a few pieces of venison. The witness in return gave 
them more beads and presents, and begged them to go with 
him to show him where they got that ore. One of the Indian 
chiefs complied willingly. 

1 Ranchos. 

2 This is the Rancheria de los Gandules given in the Ytinerario, which sup- 
plies the distance of two and one-half leagues. 

3 Datil. 



242 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

They left their rancheria, going up a smooth hill. They 
reached a plain and a very large pine grove with many large 
and tall pines, which is the beginning of the mountain range, 
all of which, as stated, was covered with snow which reached 
to their knees. The Indian chief always going ahead as a 
guide, they travelled about six leagues along the mountain 
range, 1 and at the end of this distance they found a rather low 
valley, without snow and with very good grass, water, and 
wood, where they spent the night. 2 Leaving this place, on 
the following day they came in sight of another rancheria 
because they saw the smoke from it. And when they came 
near it the witness took with him three companions, leaving 
the rest of the men and the horses behind, and went to the 
said rancheria, where he found a petty Indian chief with about 
thirty Indians, stained with ores of different colors, and as 
many as eight or ten dwellings in which were women and chil- 
dren. The witness dismounted and embraced the captain 
and the other Indians, making signs of peace and friendship, 
giving them beads and presents of what he had with him, as a 
token of peace, and making a cross with his ringers, which is 
the sign they make when they desire peace. The Indians 
gave them powdered ores of different colors and apparently 
rich. The witness, after reassuring them, and peace having 
been made, begged the captain to bring the women and chil- 
dren there, as he wanted to see them and give to them of what 
he had with him. The Indian chief did so, and within about 
an hour he brought about forty women and as many children, 
all dressed in the skins of deer, otter, and other animals, with 
which they clothe themselves. 

The Indian who had come as guide, saying that he felt 
too tired to go on to the exploration upon which they were 
going, remained in this rancheria, and begged the chief of it 
to go on with the witness and his two companions. He con- 

1 They were evidently now crossing the range south of Bill Williams Moun- 
tain. 

2 The Ytinerario calls this the Rancheria de los Cruzados, and gives the 
distance as two leagues. Espejo told of the Cruzados on the way to the Arizona 
mines, a people with small crosses on their heads. See Espejo, p. 187, above. 
They have been identified as the Yavapai (see Bandelier, in Arch. Inst, of 
America Papers, III. 109). 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE MINES 243 

sented willingly, and after they had given them venison and 
of what they had in their rancheria, they set out from it, 
travelling through a land of pine groves, with the finest of 
pastures, many cattle, very good prickly pears, and many 
and large maguey patches, where they saw Castilian par- 
tridges, a great many deer, hares, and rabbits. 1 

Having travelled about three leagues, they saw the smoke 
of another rancheria. Taking ahead of them the other chief 
as a guide, he said that he wished to go ahead to notify the 
rancheria, so that they would not become excited, and to tell 
them that we were men who would do them no harm but were 
friends. The witness permitted the Indian to go. He reached 
the rancheria, which was about a league 2 beyond, and reas- 
sured the people thereof, who came out to meet him. They 
arrived at the rancheria and received the chief of it and the 
rest with signs of joy and peace. They found many women 
and children, to whom they gave of what they had with them, 
and the Indians gave them powdered ore of different colors, 
mescale, and venison. 

As it was late they camped for the night about two arque- 
bus shots from there, on the bank of a river 3 of fair width and 
much water, with good pasture and a cottonwood grove. The 
following morning, as the chief whom they had as a guide wished 
to return, the witness begged the chief of this rancheria to 
go with him and show him the mine from which they got 
ores. He consented willingly, and having travelled about 
four leagues through very fine, fertile land, with extensive 
pastures, they came to another river, wider than the first, 
where they spent the night. This river flowed almost from 
the north. They crossed it, and having travelled about two 
leagues they came to another river, much larger, which flowed 
from the north. They crossed it, and having travelled about 



1 Compare Espejo's description of the country near the mines. 

2 The Ytinerario does not account for this league. 

3 This would seem to correspond with the northwestern branch of the 
Verde River, which was crossed between Bill Williams Mountain and Prescott. 
The old trail from Antelope Springs, south of Bill Williams Mountain, crossed 
the river at Postal's Ranch. It is just possible that they crossed Black Forest 
farther north, and went through old Camp Hualpai, where the trail forked, 
but I doubt it. 



244 NEW MEXICO: THE OfiATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

a league, arrived at the slopes of some hills 1 where the Indian 
chief said the mines were whence they got the ore. 

And arriving at the slope of the said hills, the banks of the 
said rivers were seen, with deep ravines having the finest of 
pastures, and extensive plains. As it was late, they camped 
that night on the slope of these hills, at a spring of water 
which issued from one of them, very large and carrying much 
water, almost hot. 2 Here six Indians from different ran- 
cherias of those mountains joined him, and next morning they 
took him up to the said mine, which was at a good height, 
although one could go up to it on horseback, for these Indians 
had opened up a road. There they found an old shaft, three 
estados in depth, from which the Indians extracted the ores 
for their personal adornment and for the coloring of their 
blankets, because in this mine there are brown, black, water- 
colored, blue, and green ores. The blue ore is so blue that it 
is understood that some of it is enamel. The mine had a 
very large dump, where there were many and apparently 
very good ores, which are the ones which have been enumer- 
ated. 

The vein is very wide and rich and of many outcrops, all 
containing ores. The vein ran along the hill in plain view 
and crossed over to another hill which was opposite, where 
they took from twenty-eight to thirty claims for themselves 
and for the companions who remained at the camp as a guard 
to the Senor governor. At one side of the said hill they found 
another vein of more than two arms' length in width, which 
they named the vein of San Francisco. Here they took four- 
teen or fifteen claims. On the other side of the other part 
of the outcrop 3 they found another vein which they named 
San Gabriel, wide and rich in ores, where they took fourteen 
or fifteen more claims ; and on the other side, on the hill of 
the outcrop, they found another vein which they named the 

1 1 am in doubt as to whether the last stream was the Big Sandy or the 
Spenser River, a branch of the Santa Maria, but the indications seem to point 
to the latter. In that case the mines were in the Aquarius Range ; in the other 
case, they were in the Hualpai Range. Both of these ranges have become 
mining districts. 

2 The identification of this spring may become the key to the locality. 

3 La descubridora. 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE MINES 245 

vein of Guerfanos, wide and rich in ores, where they took ten 
or twelve more claims. 

As it was late they descended and slept at the said camp 
and spring of water; and complying with the instructions which 
he had from his Lordship he assembled all the Indians he 
could in order to learn about everything else which there 
was in the country. When everybody from the rancherlas 
and the mountains had come together he asked them through 
what country the three rivers which they had seen came, 
and where they went. They said and indicated by signs, 
joining them on the ground with a rod, that the said three 
rivers and two others which joined them further on, 1 all 
united and passed through a gorge which they pointed out 
to them, and that beyond the gorge the river was extremely 
wide and copious, and that on the banks on both sides there 
were immense settlements of people who planted very large 
fields of maize, beans, and gourds in a very level country 
of good climate; and (referring to the snow which they showed 
him on the mountain which they were leaving behind) they 
said that neither on the mountain of the mines nor in the 
settlements of the rivers does it ever snow, because the cli- 
mate is mild and almost hot. Conditions described on this 
river and settlements were understood to extend to the sea, 
which they showed to be salty by dissolving a small quan- 
tity of salt in water in order to demonstrate the condition 
of the sea water. 

When the witness asked them where they got some shells 
which they wore suspended from their noses and foreheads, 
which are pearl-bearing, they said by signs that they got 
them from this said salt water, which is thirty days' journey 
from their rancherias, which, according to their rate of travel, 
must be eighty or ninety leagues. And making signs with 
the hands, placing one hand over the other in the form of 
a shell, they opened it on one side. They said that there 
these shells were to be found, and that they opened them 
and found some white and round objects as large as grains 

1 This confirms my opinion that the mines were on the eastern slope of the 
Aquarius Mountains. In that case the Big Sandy and the main Colorado 
would be referred to as the other two streams uniting with the three to form the 
Colorado. 



246 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

of maize ; and that it is from the shells that they get them ; 
and that in that neighborhood there are many and very large 
settlements. 

After this was over the captain and his companions set 
about returning to examine and consider with care the quali- 
ties of the country and the mines wherein they found, as has 
been stated, the said veins, besides many other reports which 
the Indians give. The veins are so long and wide that half 
of the people of New Spain can have mines there. At a 
quarter of a league, half a league, or a league, there is a very 
great quantity of water from the said rivers and spring, where 
many water mills can be constructed, with excellent water 
wheels, and water can be taken out with the greatest ease. 

Near to the very mines themselves are enormous pines, 
oaks, mesquites, walnuts, and cottonwoods, and, as has been 
stated, great pastures and plains and fine lands for culti- 
vation. The maize which the Indians gather gives most 
excellent evidence of the bounty of the land, because this 
witness got down to cut off with his own hand a stalk of 
that which the Indians had planted and had, and although 
it appeared to have been broken in the middle, yet this half 
which he brought to his Lordship so that he might see it was 
two fathoms and three spans long, and as thick as the wrist. 
In all this land the good pasture lands continue, and there 
is much game, as deer, hares, and partridges, and although 
no fish were seen in the river, because of the little we saw of 
it, they found on it many Indians clothed in the skins of 
beavers, which were very fine and well tanned. They found 
two lizards hung in a rancheria to dry. In the groves on the 
rivers mentioned there are a great number of birds of all 
kinds, which is an excellent indication of the good climate 
of the country, and from what this witness saw in it, the 
said mountains are without doubt the richest in all New 
Spain, for the witness has been in almost all the mines of 
New Spain and he has seen that this country has the same 
qualities, especially the rich mines of San Andres. 

Hereupon the witness and his companions returned to re- 
port to his Lordship all that they had seen and explored 
and all that they had heard of, as he did. He returned to 
his presence for two reasons: first, because they lacked pro- 



1598] DISCOVERY OF THE MINES 247 

visions, and secondly, because the time allotted for the said 
journey was up. Arid this which he has stated is what oc- 
curred, what he saw and learned, and is the truth by the 
oath which he has taken. And it being read to him he re- 
affirmed and ratified it. He said he was about forty years 
of age, and was a legally qualified witness. And he signed 
in his own name with his Lordship. Marcos Farfan de los 
Godos. Don Juan de Onate. Before me, Juan Velarde, 
secretary. 1 

Witness. And after the above, in the said pueblos of 
Cibola, on the 11th day of the month of December, 1598, 
his Lordship the governor caused to appear before him Cap- 
tain Quesada, to whom he administered oath in the name of 
God our Lord and with a sign of the cross, in legal form, and 
in virtue of which he promised to tell the truth. And being 
shown the above order and the narrative given regarding this 
matter by Captain Marcos Farfan de los Godos on this day, 
he declared that the said account is true, and that all is lit- 
erally as happened, and is what occurred to them in the said 
Journey, and that, in addition to what the said Captain Mar- 
cos Farfan de los Godos declared, they found and discovered 
another rich vein about a half-league from the other mines, 
towards the north, which they named the vein of La Cuesta ; 
and also another, a quarter-league away, more or less. 

This witness found two veins where he and the others 
who were with him took up claims; and he understands 
and is very certain that there are an infinite number of 
mines throughout all that land, because the indications are 
extremely favorable. He said that this is the truth, and he 

1 On the return to New Mexico, the samples of ore brought from the west 
were distributed among various men of mining experience, to be assayed. On 
February IS, 1599, at the pueblo of San Juan Baptista, Onate ordered declarations 
regarding the results. It was stated that as Farfan had set out from Moqui, 
his party was unprepared with tools, and could only get samples extracted with 
daggers and knives. Alonso Sanchez, real contador, declared that from one sample 
the assay showed eleven ounces of silver per quintal. In his testimony it is 
clearly implied that the mines explored by Farfan were the same as those dis- 
covered by Espejo. Diego de £ubia, proveedor general, also made a declaration, 
on the basis of an assay, to the effect that he believed the mines to be rich ("Re- 
lacion de los ensayes que se hicieron de ciertas minas," MS.). 



248 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1598 

reaffirmed and ratified it and the account of the said Captain 
Marcos de los Godos, under the oath which he has taken. 
He said that he was about thirty years of age, and was a 
legally qualified witness ; and he signed his name with the said 
governor. Alonso de Quesada. Don Juan de Onate. Be- 
fore me, Juan Velarde, secretary. 

In the pueblo of San Juan Baptista of this New Mexico, 
on the 15th day of the month of January, 1599, the said 
Seiior governor, for the said inquiry, caused to appear before 
him Captain Bartolome Romero, Antonio Conte de Herrera, 
his chief equerry, Francisco Vido, his chief page, Sargento 
Hernan Martin, Marcos Garcia, Juan Rodriguez, and Leon 
de Ysasti, to whom he administered oath in the name of 
God our Lord and with the sign of the cross, in legal form ; 
and the foregoing order and the statement and account given 
by Captain Marcos Farfan de los Godos, and the statement 
and deposition of Captain Alonso de Quesada being read to 
them, they all and severally said that the said statement 
and relation, as rendered and declared, are true and what 
happened, by the oath which they have taken; and they 
reaffirmed and ratified the same, and again said and stated 
it in the form stated and declared by the said captains. And 
they signed it with their own names, with the said governor. 
Captain Romero, Antonio Conte de Herrera, Francisco 
Vido, Juan Rodriguez, Herman Martin, Leon de Ysasti, 
Marcos Garcia, Don Juan de Onate. Before me Juan 
Velarde, secretary. 

In the pueblo of San Juan Baptista of New Mexico on 
the sixteenth day of the month of January, 1599, his Lord- 
ship Governor Don Juan de Onate, having seen this inquiry, 
ordered that one, two, and more copies be made, in order 
to send it to the king our Lord and to his royal council. 
And this he provided, ordered, and signed with his name. 
Don Juan de Onate. Before me Juan Velarde, secretary. 

This copy was corrected and compared with the original, 
which remains in possession of the Sefior governor who here 
signed his name; and at his request and order I had this 
written in the pueblo of San Juan Baptista of this New Mex- 



1599] DISCOVERY OF THE MINES 249 

ico on the twenty-second day of the month of February, 
1599, the correction being witnessed by Antonio Conte, Cris- 
tobal de Herrera, and Francisco de Villalva. In witness 
whereof I signed and sealed it with the seal of his Lordship. 
Don Juan de Onate. In testimony of the truth. Juan 
Velarde, secretary. 



TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION OF 
ONATE TOWARD THE EAST, 1601 1 

Faithful and true account of the events which took place in the 
expedition made by the Adelantado and Governor Don Juan 
de Onate, in the name of his Majesty, from these first set- 
tlements of New Mexico, toward the north, in the year of 
1601. 2 

With particular care, I mean with the consent and coun- 
sel both of our Father Commissary, Fray Juan Descalona, 3 
and the other fathers who resided in these kingdoms occupied 
in ministering to souls, and of the officers of the royal troops 
which his Majesty has herein, and after many supplications, 
suffrages, sacrifices, and prayers to God our Lord, that his Maj- 
esty might reveal His divine will, knowing that that of our 
most Catholic king and lord Philip, God guard him through 
infinite years, has been and is that the most holy name of 
God be proclaimed in these his realms, and His holy gospel 
preached to these barbarous nations, bound by the power of 
Satan, the enemy of humankind, the governor and adelan- 
tado Don Juan de Ofiate determined to make an expedition 
from these first settlements where at the present time this 
camp of his Majesty is established, to the interior, by a north- 
ern route and direction, both because of the splendid reports 
which the native Indians were giving of this land, and also 

1 "Relacion Verdadera de los sucesos de la entrada que hizo el governador 
D. Juan de Onate en las poblaciones de Nueva Megico hacia el Norte " (manu- 
script in Lowery Collection). 

2 For other data regarding this expedition see especially "Breve relacion 
en sustancia del nuevo descubrimiento que intento y dexo comenzado Don Juan 
de Onate en la Jornada que hizo entre Norte y Levante," etc., in Pacheco and 
Cardenas, Doc. Ined., XVI. 52-60; Zarate Salmeron, Relaciones, paragraphs 
37-43. 

3 Fray Juan de Escalona was made commissary after the return of Father 
Martinez to Mexico in 1599. 

250 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 251 

because of what an Indian named Joseph, who was born and 
reared in New Spain and who speaks the Mexican tongue, 
saw while going with Captain Umana. 1 

The most necessary things having been arranged for the 
journey, with the supply of provisions, arms, ammunition, 
and other requisite military stores, with more than seventy 
picked men for the expedition, all very well equipped, more 
than seven hundred horses and mules, six mule carts, and two 
carts drawn by oxen conveying four pieces of artillery, and 
with servants to carry the necessary baggage, 2 the journey 
was begun this year of 1601, the said adelantado, Don Juan 
de Onate, governor and captain-general, going as commander, 
with Vicente de Qaldivar Mendoga as his maese de campo 
and sargento mayor, and two religious of the order of our 
father San Francisco, Fray Francisco de Velasco, priest, and 
Fray Pedro de Vergara, lay brother. For reasons which pre- 
vented all the people from setting out together, it was neces- 
sary that some should go out ahead of the others to a con- 
venient place where all should unite. The first left this camp 
of San Gabriel on the 23d of the month of June, eve of the 
Most Blessed Precursor, San Juan Bautista, 3 and having 
travelled for four days they reached the post or pueblo which 
is called Galisteo, 4 which is one of these first settlements. 

There the greater part of the men came together in five 
or six days, and from there they commenced to march toward 
the east; and although at two leagues from this post there 
arose the difficulty of a large mountain which it was feared 
the carts could not ascend, our Lord was pleased to over- 
come it by opening a road through which they passed very 

1 It must be remembered that one of the avowed purposes of settling New 
Mexico was to explore beyond Quivira. Interest was greatly stimulated also 
by the report given by the Indian Jusephe. 

2 The Breve Relacion (Doc. Ined., XVI. 54) says that Onate took eighty 
men, half of whom were rather a hindrance than a help. . . . The number of 
men is given in "Memorial sobre el Descubrimiento " (Doc. Ined., XVI. 198) as 
one hundred. In an inquiry made in Mexico by Factor Valverde, an eye- 
witness said that besides the carts Onate had a hundred sumpter loads of pro- 
visions (ibid., p. 221). 

s St. John the Baptist. 

4 They descended the Rio Grande valley and crossed the mountains through 
the Galisteo Pass (see the Martinez map). 



252 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

easily. Having travelled five days we all came to a river in 
an opening, with peaceful waters, covered with shady groves 
of trees, some bearing fruits, and with very good fish. Hav- 
ing reached the river on the eve of the learned and seraphic 
San Buenaventura, we named it San Buenaventura River. 1 

Next day we continued through some extensive plains 
with very abundant pasturage to another river which they 
call River of the Bagres 2 and justly so, because of the many 
catfish which it contains. After the horses had rested we 
continued our journey, always going east, and in three days 
arrived at another river, which we named Magdalena, 3 hav- 
ing reached it on her day. Although at first it did not ap- 
pear promising, we having seen it at a point where it flowed 
sluggishly among some rocks, and as its banks were not in- 
viting at this point, yet next day and on the other days dur- 
ing which we travelled along it we found it to be so verdant, 
pleasant, and so covered with vines and other fruits on all 
sides that we clearly saw that it was one of the best rivers 
which we had seen in all the Indies. Here some Indians of 
the nation called Apachi came out with signs of peace. The 
governor and the other men who were with him made them 
so many presents that they felt compelled, in view of the small 
number who had come at the first to see us, to return, and in 
a little while to come back to our camp with men, women 
and children, who ratified [the actions of the others] by rais- 
ing their hands to the sun, which is the ceremony they use 
as a sign of friendship, and brought to us some small black 
and yellow fruit of the size of small tomatoes, which is plen- 
tiful on all that river. It was as healthful as it was pleasant 
to taste, for although eaten freely it injured no one. 

We took joyous leave and, enjoying the great improve- 
ment in the land which we saw each day, we travelled on, 
following the course of this river, although upon entering the 

ir The map shows the route to have been nearly south from Galisteo for 
some distance, parallel to the mountains, and then to turn sharply east, around 
the range. The San Buenaventura was the Pecos, which was crossed above the 
junction. 

2 The River of Bagres was the Gallinas. 

3 The Canadian, which was reached just below the sharp turn to the east. 
The route from the Gallinas to that point evidently had been close to the south 
line of San Miguel County. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 253 

plains which they call Cibola or Cebolo we encountered some 
openings of rocks half detached, which are those which the 
mountains of this land give off. They caused the carts 
trouble, but with the great diligence of the good soldiers who 
were in charge of them they passed this difficult threshold 
very well and came out at some very extensive and pleasant 
plains, where scarcely any mountains like those passed could 
be seen. 

Learning from the guide whom we were taking with us 
that all the country was now level, we began to travel with 
greater rapidity and with pleasure occasioned by the coming 
of the maese de campo with the rest of the men who remained 
behind. And like good soldiers, desirous of serving God our 
Lord and his Majesty, they were undismayed by the absence 
of four or five cowardly soldiers, who, frightened by military 
service as by a nightmare, turned their backs, just when the 
hopes of seeing grander things were becoming brighter. For 
these the country promised, since each day, as we descended, 
it seemed warmer, and it doubtless was warmer than the set- 
tlements from whence we had started. 

At times it became necessary for us to depart from the 
main river in order to find a road for the carts ; and although 
we feared the lack of watering places for the cattle, there 
are so many in this country that throughout the journey at 
distances of three or four leagues there was always sufficient 
water for the cattle and for the men; and in many places 
there were springs of very good water and groves of trees. 

In some places we came across camps of people of the 
Apache nation, who are the ones who possess these plains, 
and who, having neither fixed place nor site of their own, 
go from place to place with the cattle always following them. 
We were not disturbed by them at all, although we were in 
their land, nor did any Indian become impertinent. We 
therefore passed on, always close to the river, and although 
on one day we might be delayed in our journey by a very 
heavy rain, such as are very common in those plains, on the 
following day and thereafter we journeyed on, sometimes 
crossing the river at very good fords. 

Each day the land through which we were travelling 
became better, and the luxury of an abundance of fish from 



254 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

the river greatly alleviated the hardships of the journey. 
And the fruits gave no less pleasure, particularly the plums, 
of a hundred thousand different kinds, as mellow and good 
as those which grow in the choicest orchards of our land. 
They are so good that although eaten by thousands they 
never injured anybody. The trees were small, but their 
fruit was more plentiful than their leaves, and they were 
so abundant that in more than one hundred and fifty leagues, 
hardly a day passed without seeing groves of them, and also 
of grapevines such that although they hid the view in many 
places they produced sweet and delicious grapes. Because of 
this the people were very quiet and [not] inclined to injure 
us in any way, a favor granted by our Lord, for which we 
did not cease to praise Him and to render a thousand thanks, 
and in acknowledgment of which the majority of the people 
endeavored to unburden their consciences and their souls; 
and God being pleased that on the feast of the Porciuncula, 
which is the 2d of August, we should reach a place which 
from times past had been called Rio de San Francisco, 1 
with very special devotion to the Most Blessed Confessor 
the greater part of the army confessed and received com- 
munion. 

Proceeding on the day of the Glorious Levite and Martyr, 
San Lorenzo, God was pleased that we should begin to see 
those most monstrous cattle called cibola. Although they 
were very fleet of foot, on this day four or five of the bulls 
were killed, which caused great rejoicing. On the following 
day, continuing our journey, we now saw great droves of 
bulls and cows, and from there on the multitude which we saw 
was so great that it might be considered a falsehood by one 
who had not seen them, for, according to the judgment of 
all of us who were in any army, nearly every day and wher- 
ever we went as many cattle came out as are to be found 
in the largest ranches of New Spain ; 2 and they were so tame 
that nearly always, unless they were chased or frightened, 

1 This is an indication that the country was known to this point. Forty- 
leagues from the Pecos, Zaldivar had celebrated the feast of San Francisco, near 
a stream flowing from the Taos and Picuries. It was clearly the Canadian or 
a branch of it. He could hardly have been as far east as Onate now was. 

2 Some of these are named on p. 219. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 255 

they remained quiet and did not flee. The flesh of these cat- 
tle is very good, and very much better than that of our cows. 
In general they are very fat, especially the cows, and almost 
all have a great deal of tallow. By experience we noted that 
they do not become angry like our cattle, and are never 
dangerous. 

All these cattle are of one color, namely brown, and it 
was a great marvel to see a white bull in such a multitude. 
Their form is so frightful that one can only infer that they 
are a mixture of different animals. The bulls and the cows 
alike are humped, the curvature extending the whole length 
of the back and even over the shoulders. And although the 
entire body is covered with wool, on the hump, from the 
middle of the body to the head, the breast, and the forelegs, 
to just above the knee, the wool is much thicker, and so 
fine and soft that it could be spun and woven like that of 
the Castilian sheep. It is a very savage animal, and is in- 
comparably larger than our cattle, although it looks small 
because of its short legs. Its hide is of the thickness of that 
of our cattle, and the native Indians are so expert in dressing 
the hides that they convert them into clothing. This river 
is thickly covered on all sides with these cattle and with an- 
other not less wonderful, consisting of deer which are as large 
as large horses. They travel in droves of two and three 
hundred and their deformity causes one to wonder whether 
they are deer or some other animal. 1 

Having travelled to reach this place one hundred and 
eleven leagues, it became necessary to leave the river, as 
there appeared ahead some sand dunes; 2 and turning from 
the east to the north, we travelled up a small stream until 
we discovered the great plains covered with innumerable 
cattle. We found constantly better roads and better land, 

1 Perhaps elk. The viceroy rather contemptuously remarks that besides 
buffalo Ofiate saw "naught else but some birds and animals, particularly some 
deer out of all proportion in size" ("Breve relacion en sustancia del nuevo des- 
cubrimiento," in Doc. Ined., XVI. 53). 

2 Sand dunes are found at various places along the Canadian. The place 
where the turn was made seems to have been the Antelope Hills, just east of 
the Texas Panhandle. In this case the arroyo ascended was Commission Creek. 
From this point the route was apparently close to the line of the present Santa 
Fe Road from the Canadian to Wichita, Kansas. 



256 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

such that the carts could travel without hindrance or diffi- 
culty, and although we encountered some large ravines and 
broken hills, nowhere were there any over which the carts 
had to pass, as the land was in general level and very easy 
to traverse. We continued in this direction for some days, 
along two small streams 1 which flowed toward the east, like 
the one previously mentioned. We wandered from the di- 
rection we had been following, though it did not frighten 
us much, as the land was so level that daily the men became 
lost in it by separating themselves for but a short distance 
from us, as a result of which it was necessary to reconnoitre 
the country from some of the stopping places. Therefore the 
camp continued its march by the most direct route possible. 
In order to further insure our safety, the governor and 
adelantado decided to send ahead the maese de campo with 
some companions, and, with the lucky star which ever guides 
him, in a short time he returned, having found many signs 
of people, and a country full of pasture lands, which was 
the matter of deepest concern, since they had been lacking 
for several days, as there had been none for many leagues, 
for the fields there were covered with flowers of a thousand 
different kinds, so thick that they choked the pasture. The 
cattle of this territory must eat these flowers far better than 
ours are wont to do, because wherever they were there were 
multitudes of cattle. Great was the joy felt by all at this 
good news, because it was what they were hoping for. With 
the forethought and diligence of the maese de campo, which, like 
a good soldier, he always displayed in matters of war, he had 
his people prepared and ordered for whatever might happen ; 
and all together we continued our journey and route and 
reached a small river, carrying little water but so grown with 
timber that its banks resembled thickly wooded mountains. 
Here we found many walnut trees loaded with nuts which were 
nearly as good as those of our country, the trees being taller 
and having more abundant foliage, and the land being so 
grown with pasture that it could scarcely be seen. Having 
slept one night in this pleasant spot, we went on next day 
three leagues from this point to where flowed a river carry- 
ing more water than the last one, and with many fish and 

1 These were Beaver Creek (North Fork) and Cimarron River. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 257 

larger groves, both of walnuts and of oak, and other valuable 
timbers. The land was better than that which we had hith- 
erto seen, so good indeed that all said that they never had 
seen any better in their lives. The cattle were innumerable, 
and of all kinds of game there was a great abundance — Cas- 
tilian partridges, turkeys, deer, and hares. 

From this point the maese de campo began again to ex- 
plore the country, and having travelled three leagues he 
discovered a large rancheria, with more than five thousand 
souls ; and although the people were warlike, as it later de- 
veloped, and although at first they began to place themselves 
in readiness to fight, by signs of peace they were given to 
understand that we were not warriors, and they became so 
friendly with us that some of them came that night to our 
camp and entertained us with wonderful reports of the people 
further on. Having heard these reports, at daybreak next 
day the whole camp marched on through this good country, 
bounded on both sides by the coolest of rivers and by pleasant 
groves. 

At three in the afternoon we arrived within an arquebus 
shot of this rancheria, and at some pools that were there we 
stopped with due care and precaution. From there the gov- 
ernor and the religious went with more than thirty armed 
horsemen to reconnoitre the people and the rancheria, 1 and 
they, all drawn up in regular order in front of their ranchos, 
began to raise the palms of their hands towards the sun, 
which is the sign of peace among them. Assuring them that 
peace was what we wanted, all the people, women, youths, 
and small children, came to where we were ; and they con- 
sented to our visiting their houses, which all consisted of 
branches an estado and a half long, placed in a circle, some 
of them being so wide that they were ninety feet in diameter. 
Most of them were covered with tanned hides, which made 
them resemble tents. They were not a people who sowed or 
reaped, but they lived solely on the cattle. They were ruled 

1 Called on the map and in other sources the Escanjaques. Sometimes 
corrupted to Escansaques. The map gives it six hundred houses, and other 
sources give it five thousand or six thousand inhabitants. It was not a perma- 
nent village, but a temporary camp (see "Breve relacion en sustancia del des- 
cubrimiento," p. 53; "Memorial sobre el Descubrimiento," p. 199). 



258 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

and governed by chiefs, and like communities which are freed 
from subjection to any lord, they obeyed their chiefs but 
little. They had large quantities of hides which, wrapped 
about their bodies, served them as clothing, but the weather 
being hot, all of the men went about nearly naked, the women 
being clothed from the waist down. Men and women alike 
used bows and arrows, with which they were very dexterous. 

We learned while here that this nation was at war with 
the people settled eight leagues distant towards the interior, 
and they, thinking that we were going to avenge the murder 
of the Spaniards who had entered with Umana, of course took 
the opportunity to throw the blame upon their enemies and 
to tell us that it was they who had killed them. Thinking 
that we were going for this purpose only, they were much 
pleased, and offered to accompany us, and as we were unable 
to prevent it, lest we should cause them to make trouble, 
they went. 

They guided us to a river 1 seven leagues from this place, 
with wonderful banks, and, although level, so densely wooded 
that the trees formed thick and wide groves. Here we found 
a small fruit the size of the wild pear or yellow sapodilla, of 
very good flavor. The river contained an abundance of very 
good fish, and although at some points it had good fords, in 
other parts it was extremely deep and vessels could sail on 
it with ease. It flowed due east, 2 and its waters were fresh 
and pleasant to taste. Here the land was fertile and much 
better than that which we had passed. The pastures were 
so good that in many places the grass was high enough to 
conceal a horse. The Indians who came with us to this 
place, in a few hours quickly built a rancheria as well estab- 
lished as the one left behind, which caused no little wonder 
to all, with the intention of there awaiting the result of our 
journey, or of awaiting us on our return with evil intent, as 
later developed, when they threw off their disguise and shame- 
fully made war on us. 

We set out from this place the next day, and, leaving the 
river and passing through some pleasant plains, after having 

1 This stream was clearly the Arkansas. 

2 See p. 252, note 3. These two emphatic statements regarding the course 
of the great river where it was encountered cannot be overlooked. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 259 

travelled four leagues we began to see people who appeared 
upon some elevations of a hill. Although hostile to this 
nation they came on, inviting us to battle and war, shouting 
and throwing dirt into the air, which is the sign used in all 
this region to proclaim cruel war. Three or four hundred 
people awaited us in peace, and by the signs which one side 
was able to make to the other we were assured of friendship. 
Peace being made, some of these people came to us, and 
throwing among us some beads which they wore about their 
necks, proclaimed themselves our friends. They invited us to 
their houses, but as it was already late it was not possible 
to go that day, and it became necessary to go to the banks 
of a large river 1 called the Rio de San Francisco, whose 
banks in these parts were most beautiful to look upon and 
were covered with mulberry trees and other trees bearing 
fruit of very fine flavor. Many people constantly came and 
went to see us, bringing ears of maize, which were the first 
we had seen in this good country, and some round loaves 
of bread, as large as shields and three or four fingers thick, 
made of the same maize. 

All that night we took the necessary care and precaution, 
but at dawn the following day the people who had repre- 
sented themselves as friendly to us were stationed at our 
rear in a great multitude, threatening the other tribe "to 
beat a Roldan," and awaiting their chance to attack them. 
We inquiring again regarding the country, they told us that 
in this region they had murdered the Spaniards, 2 surround- 
ing them with fire and burning them all, and that they had 
with them one who had escaped, injured by the fire. 3 Coun- 
sel and opinion being taken as to what must be done in a 
matter of such importance, it was decided to seize some In- 
dians, both to take with us as guides and also to verify the 
statements of their enemies, and it was a fortunate coinci- 
dence that their chief, or captain, whom they call Catarax, 
was there at the time. It was remarkable to note how they 
obeyed him and served him, like a people more united, peace- 

1 This was evidently the same river as that just previously mentioned. 

2 The Humana party. 

3 Presumably the mulatto woman told of by Father Zarate (Relation, in 
Land of Sunshine, XII. 45). 






260 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

ful, and settled. As evidence of this it is enough to say that 
while they might with justice have become aroused because 
of his arrest, they did not do so, merely because he signalled 
to them that they should withdraw. 1 

We took him with us, treating him well, as was proper, 
and in order to carry out our plans we crossed the river, at 
a very good ford. Having travelled half a league we came 
to a settlement containing more than twelve hundred houses, 
all established along the bank of another good-sized river 
which flowed into the large one. 2 They were all round, built 
of forked poles and bound with rods, and on the outside 
covered to the ground with dry grass. Within, on the sides, 
they had frameworks or platforms 3 which served them as 
beds on which they slept. Most of them were large enough 
to hold eight or ten persons. 4 They were two lance-lengths 
high and all had granaries or platforms, an estado high, which 
they must have used in summer, and which would hold three 
or four persons, being most appropriate for enjoying the 
fresh air. They entered them through a small grass door. 
They ascended to this platform by means of a movable wooden 
ladder. Not a house lacked these platforms. We found the 
pueblo entirely deserted but not lacking maize, of which 
there was much and of good quality. For this reason the 
enemy wished to sack it; but in no manner were they per- 

1 Father Zarate says that Catarax was rescued. He says : "The ambassa- 
dor did not dare to cross the river which separated them from the Spaniards; 
but the adelantado sent some soldiers to try to catch him from behind, which 
they did, and put irons on him. He was an Indian of importance. But the 
Indians had a sharper trick; for making a feint of attack, while the Spaniards 
were getting the arms, they took care to carry off the prisoner bodily, ironed as 
he was" (Relation, par. 38, Land of Sunshine, XII. 45). 

2 The stream was the Arkansas. The two streams crossed just below were 
branches of the Ne-Ne-Schah, as is clear from the Martinez map, where the second 
is called Rio del Robredal. Such a network of streams is found on the border 
of Sedgwick and Kingman counties, and another in Reno County. After leaving 
the rancheria, Oiiate turned north and reached the Arkansas opposite the mouth 
of a stream coming in from the north. This could be either the Little Arkansas, 
at Wichita, or Cow Creek, at Hutchinson. The statement that the river flowed 
east points to Hutchinson, but ethnological considerations point to Wichita. 
The Indians were probably the Jumano (Wichita, Panipiquet). 

3 Canicos, i. e., cafiizos. 

4 This description fits the Wichita grass lodges. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 261 

mitted to do so, 1 nor to do any damage except to take away a 
little maize. Thereupon the governor dismissed them and gave 
them express commands to go to their rancheria, which they did. 

We remained here for one day in this pleasant spot sur- 
rounded on all sides by fields of maize and crops of the In- 
dians. The stalks of the maize were as high as that of New 
Spain and in many places even higher. The land was so 
rich that, having harvested the maize, a new growth of a 
span in height had sprung up over a large portion of the 
same ground, without any cultivation or labor other than the 
removal of the weeds and the making of holes where they 
planted the maize. There were many beans, some gourds, 
and, between the fields, some plum trees. The crops were 
not irrigated but dependent on the rains, which, as we noted, 
must be very regular in that land, because in the month of 
October it rained as it does in August in New Spain. It was 
thought certain that it had a warm climate, for the people 
we saw went about naked, although they wore skins. Like 
the other settled Indians they utilize cattle in large numbers. 
It is incredible how many there are in that land. 

Here we took new information from the Indian, who ap- 
peared to be one of the caciques or lords of the land, regard- 
ing what there was further ahead, and he informed us that 
up the river were settled people like these in large numbers, 
and that at one side was another large river which divided 
into six or seven branches, 2 on all of which there were many 
people, and that the people whom Umana had brought had 
been killed eighteen days' journey from here. We compared 
the statements of these Indians with those of Indians of the 
rancheria who had remained in our company, and without 
discrepancy in any point they said the same, adding that 
down the river also, going due east, it was all settled by 

1 Eyewitnesses declared in Mexico that the Escanjaques had already begun 
to burn some of the houses when Ofiate forbade it (Doc. Ined., XVI. 225). Zarate 
adds that Onate's interference was at the instance of Father Velasco, who, 
"moved with pity for the damage which those Indians kept doing, prayed the 
adelantado that they be on hand amid the damage" (Land of Sunshine, XII. 45). 

2 The Kansas River answers this description. Between Manhattan and 
Saline, a distance of some fifty miles or more, it divides into the Big Blue, the 
Republican, the Solomon, the Saline, and the Smoky Hill Rivers, not to mention 
several smaller streams. 



262 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

people. They accordingly persuaded us that under no cir- 
cumstances should we proceed, saying that the people who 
had withdrawn from this settlement had done so in order 
on the third day to assemble their friends ; who were so nu- 
merous that in the course of a whole day they would not be 
able to pass by their houses, and that undoubtedly, our num- 
ber being so small, they would soon put an end to us, not a 
single person escaping. 

Although this spurred us on to go ahead, on the following 
day, having travelled three leagues, all the way through a 
populated district, 1 and seeing that the houses continued 
beyond, and having positive knowledge of the large assem- 
blage of people which was awaiting us, it was necessary to 
take counsel as to what should be done. And seeing that 
the horses and mules were tired out and exhausted, because 
of the many leagues travelled, and that the chief purpose 
of our journey had been achieved, and that his Majesty 
would be better served by learning the wonders of this land, 
that he might issue the orders most necessary to the royal 
service and to the acceleration of the salvation of these souls, 
and seeing that it would be foolhardy for our small number 
to proceed where more than three hundred persons 2 were 
necessary, it was unanimously agreed to present a petition 
to the governor and adelantado, representing to him the 
combination of just reasons for not proceeding, making known 
to him how much greater service would be rendered to his 
Majesty by informing him of the fertility of the soil, of its 
many people, of the wealth of the innumerable cattle, so 
beyond number that they alone would suffice to enrich thou- 
sands of men with suet, tallow, and hides; of the suitable- 
ness of the land for founding many important settlements, 
fortunately possessing all materials necessary for the purpose ; 
and above all, of how important it was that the King our 
Lord should speedily learn what all the world had so much 
desired to know, so that his Majesty's orders might be carried 

1 This assertion is borne out by other documents. For the doings of the 
Spaniards at the pueblo see Doc. Ined., XVI. 54, 199, 225; Zarate, Relation, 
pars. 38-39, in Land of Sunshine, XII. 45-46. 

2 That number was asked for later by Onate through Zaldivar for the pur- 
pose. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 263 

out ; and although it was a hard blow to the governor's cour- 
age and bravery, and though he was very sorry to curtail 
his journey, upon realizing the justness of the petition 1 made 
in his Majesty's name, he granted it. 

Having travelled up to this point more than two hun- 
dred and twenty leagues, 2 matters were rearranged so as to 
return as speedily as possible. On reaching the place whence 
we had set out the previous day, which was that of the first 
settlement, unsuspecting any treason, we found therein the 
Indians who at first had pretended to be friends, now con- 
verted into cruel enemies, and entrenched within the same 
houses, 3 ready to carry out their evil intent. This being 
so contrary to our intent, the maese de campo had gone for- 
ward half a league with a dozen companions, without taking 
any military precautions, to explore the land. When he 
reached the point where the people were they failed to come 
out with signs of peace, but on the run began to surround 
him and his companions, with bows and arrows in their 
hands ; but he, like a good soldier, did not give them a chance 
to do so, for, retreating in good order, he emerged from among 
them with no more damage than the loss of a horse or a couple 
of arrow wounds. 

Seeing the treason and that it was necessary to pass where 
they were, or very near to them, the governor ordered that 
all the men should provide themselves with armored horses, 
which they always had with them, and, the maese de campo 
telling them what they should do, the whole camp marched 
forward with express orders that all should enter in peace, 
since they had not come to injure anybody; but although 
they did all this, and entered with the signal which the In- 
dians used, which was to raise their hands as a token of peace, 
those who most desired war began it with very great fury, 
presenting in their first stand more than fifteen hundred per- 
sons, who, placed in order in a semicircle, attacked with great 
valor and force. 

1 Other sources show that the men made a written request to go back (see 
Doc. Ined., XVI. 225). 

2 This is important evidence regarding the route. The point where the 
Canadian was left was midway of the journey. 

3 The houses of the Quiviras. 



264 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

The governor, noting that they did not cease their at- 
tack, that the shower of arrows was great, and that they 
made no sign [of peace], gave the signal to his people to de- 
fend themselves; and, the battle thickening on both sides, 
it pleased God our Lord to take our part, for without this 
aid it would have been almost impossible, as their people 
were multiplying. The brave soldiers showed an excess of 
courage and spirit, and in a short while repelled the attack 
of the people, killing and wounding many of a group who 
were stationed at an arroyo, whereas only two of our soldiers 
were wounded. But the battle continued and the Indians 
became more furious than at the beginning, keeping it up for 
more than two hours with the greatest of courage, although 
at their own cost, for they proved the valor of the Spanish 
nation. 1 At the end of this time, the greater part of our men 
being wounded, though not dangerously in any case, the ade- 
lantado and governor, seeing the great barbarity of our enemies, 
and that many of them were dead, and that they were not to 
be frightened and would not turn their backs, ordered his 
men to retreat; and, freeing some women whom the soldiers 
had captured, he would not consent that they be further in- 
jured, although they took some boys upon the request of the 
religious, in order to instruct them in the matters of our holy 
Catholic faith, and an Indian who could furnish information 
of all this land. 2 

Thereupon we returned to the camp to sleep, and, the 

1 The "Memorial sobre el Descubrimiento," p. 199, states that "they had 
with them an obstinate struggle, from which most of the men came out wounded." 
Members of the expedition declared in Mexico that "they fought with the entire 
army from ten in the morning till night, thirty soldiers being wounded" (Doc. 
Ined., XVI. 225). By the time Father Zarate wrote the event had become a 
great victory for the Spaniards, in which nearly one thousand Escanjaques were 
slaughtered (Zarate, Relation, par. 38, in Land of Sunshine, XII. 45). 

2 His name was Miguel. He was a captive, and according to his own state- 
ment a Tancoa. In Mexico he told much about gold, and he drew a map for the 
factor Vergara, a copy of which, from the original, I have in my possession. 
Father Zarate tells of a map drawn by him in the possession of the Duke of the 
Infantado, Spain. According to Zarate, his reports induced the king to order an 
expedition of one thousand men, one-half furnished by a private individual, to be 
sent to the north country. The viceroy, Count of Monterey, did not think 
much of Miguel's testimony (see Doc. Ined., XVI. 54-55, 199, 212; Zarate, 
Relation, in Land of Sunshine, XII. 46). 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 265 

wounded having recovered, on the following day we set out, 
travelling with our usual care, and in fifty-nine days we 
reached this camp of San Gabriel, having spent in the entire 
journey the time from the 23d of June until the 24th of No- 
vember. 

The carts went over the country to the settlements very 
nicely, and so far as the nature of the land was concerned 
they could have gone as far as the North Sea, 1 which could 
not have been very far, because some of the Indians wore 
shells from it on their foreheads. May God our Lord be 
forever praised, and may He be pleased to hasten the salva- 
tion of so many souls, and may He have pity on this land, so 
that in it His holy gospel may be preached and many poor 
souls be saved, for, judging from what we have seen, it must 
in time become their place of refuge and bring wealth to many. 



Auto. 

In the pueblo of San Gabriel of New Mexico, Senor Don 
Juan de Onate, governor, captain-general, and adelantado of 
this kingdom of New Mexico, said that whereas his Lordship 
had set out from this camp to make an expedition to the great 
settlement which lies towards the north, in which undertaking 
he spent five months in going and returning, that he might 
be able to give to the king our lord and to whom he might 
deem it proper an account of all that might be discovered or 
all that might happen, he entrusted the writing of the said 
account to a person of much fidelity and trustworthiness, who 
prepared it; ? and that it might be examined and learned 
whether what it contains is the truth, or if there is anything 
to be taken from it or added to it, in order that his Majesty 
might be more truthfully informed, he ordered that it be read 
to all the persons who went with his Lordship on said journey, 
that they might declare under oath if it were true, and, that 

1 In Mexico the authorities concluded that the point reached must have 
been about three hundred leagues from the North Sea and the same distance 
from the South Sea, and in lat. 39° or 40°. They were not so far wrong regard- 
ing the latitude. On this Bancroft was in error. 

2 It has not been determined who wrote it. 



266 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1601 

done, to take the other necessary steps. Thus he ordered and 
signed on the 14th day of December, 1601. 

Don Juan de Onate. 
Before me, Juan Gutierrez Bocanegra, secretary. 

Authentication. 

On this said day the said Senor governor requested the 
Reverend Father Fray Francisco de Velasco, guardian of the 
monastery of the pueblo, and the commissary who went on 
the said journey, and Father Fray Pedro de Vergara, lay- 
brother who also went on the said journey, to make a declara- 
tion according to the above auto. In compliance therewith, the 
said Fray Francisco de Valesco took oath, placing his hand 
upon his breast in verbis sacerdotis, as is the custom, and the 
said Fray Pedro de Vergara took oath in due form, in the name 
of God and with the sign of a cross. They promised to tell 
the truth, and, having seen the above account of the governor, 
they testified that all it contains is the truth, and that which 
actually occurred, and what they saw on the journey which 
they had made with the Senor governor, and that it contains 
no exaggerations, as everything occurred as stated therein, and 
the said Reverend Father Fray Francisco de Velasco signed the 
same. The said Fray Pedro de Vergara did not sign as he did 
not know how. All this they said with permission from the 
Very Rev. Father Fray Juan Descalona, their commissary 
general, which he gave to them in my presence, to all of which 
I testify. 

Fray Francisco de Velasco. 
Before me, Juan Gutierrez Bocanegra, secretary. 

On this said day, month, and year, the said governor hav- 
ing ordered that all the captains and soldiers who went with 
him on the said journey should assemble, and all being assem- 
bled, I, the present secretary, read to them the whole of the 
relation, word for word, and I asked them if it were true, be- 
cause they would have to swear to it ; and all together they 
stated that the said account, so far as pertains to the report 
of the many people living beyond, x was not sufficient, because 

1 That is, beyond the New Discovery. 



1601] THE EXPEDITION TOWARD THE EAST 267 

all the Indians had represented the settlements as follows: 
their rancheria, containing more than five or six thousand souls, 
they represented by making a circle 1 with seventeen kernels 
of maize; and for many of the settlements beyond they 
placed in the circles many grains of maize ; and for one in 
particular they placed seven hundred and twenty-seven kernels 
of maize, which, in the opinion of all or most of those who 
were present, meant two hundred thousand people and more, 
and this in but one of the many settlements which they indi- 
cated. This, they said, was lacking in the said relation, and 
that all of it and of this was the truth by the oath which they 
had taken in due form; and that on the rivers where these 
many people were there was a great quantity of sumac, and 
other things which, if they were utilized, would be of great bene- 
fit. All who were able to do so signed it, and for those who 
could not write a witness signed, the witnesses to all the above 
being Captain Bartolome Romero, Captain Antonio Gomez 
Montelirios, and Alonso Naranjo, and I the said secretary, 
who testifies to the same. — Vicente de Qaldivar Mendoza, 
Juan de Vitoria Carbajal, Juan de Moreno de la Rua, Gaspar 
Lopez de Tabora, Juan Martinez de Montoya, Bartolome 
Gonzalez de Almocer, Don Pedro de Trugillo Gallegos, Fran- 
cisco Garcia, Juan Munoz, Diego Martin de Guebara, Juan de 
Mallea, Francisco Vido, Don Cristobal de Onate, Pedro Barela, 
Juan de la Cruz, Simon de la Paz, Juan Rodriguez, Rodrigo 
Zapata, Miguel de Villaviciosa, Miguel Montero de Castro, 
Juan Belarde, Alonso Nuiiez Inojosa, Alonso Robledo, Juan 
Ranjel, Francisco Rascon, Juan de Leon. Witnesses, Alonso 
Gomez Montesinos, Baltasar Martinez Coxedor, Alonso San- 
chez, Isidro Juarez de Figueroa. Before me, Juan Gutierrez 
Bocanegra, secretary. 

And I, the said Juan Gutierrez Bocanegra, secretary and 
captain of this kingdom, was present at all this, and have 
signed it by order of the governor, who here signed his name. 
I made this copy from the original, which remains in the gov- 
ernment archives. It is a true copy, in witness whereof I here 
sign. Don Juan de Onate. Juan Gutierrez Bocanegra, 
secretary. 

1 On the map made by the Indian Miguel settlements were likewise rep- 
resented by circles. 



JOURNEY OF ONATE TO CALIFORNIA BY 
LAND, [ZARATE, 1626] 

Journey of Don Juan de Onate to California by Land. 1 

44:. In the year 1604, on the 7th of the month of October, 
Don Juan de Onate set out from the villa of San Gabriel to 
discover the South Sea. He took in his company Father 
Fray Francisco de Escobar, who was then commissary of those 
provinces, and a lay-brother called Fray Juan de Buenaven- 
tura, apostolic men ; and the Father Commissary was a very 
learned man and had a gift for languages, as he learned them 
all with great facility. He took on this journey thirty sol- 
diers, 2 most of them raw recruits, and they did not carry 
more than fourteen pairs of horse armor. After having trav- 
elled towards the west sixty leagues, they arrived at the prov- 
ince of Quiii, which is in some plains more inhabited by hares 
and rabbits than by Indians. There are six pueblos; in all 
of them there are no more than three hundred terraced houses of 
many stories, like those of New Mexico. The largest pueblo 
and head of all is the pueblo of Cibola, which in their lan- 
guage is called Havico. 3 It has one hundred and ten houses. 
The food, like that general in all the land, is maize, beans, 
gourds, and wild game. They dress in mantas of iztli 4 woven 
of twisted cord. These Indians have no cotton. They set 
out from this pueblo, and having travelled twenty leagues 5 
between northwest and west they arrived at the province of 
Mooqui. There are five pueblos and in all four hundred and 
fifty houses — the same kind 6 of houses and mantas of cotton. 

1 Zarate Salmeron, Relaciones de . . . Nuevo Mexico, paragraphs 44-57, in 
Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera serie, III., 30-38 (Mexico, 1856). 

2 Soldodos, a corruption of soldados in the text. 

3 Hawikuh. See Hodge, Handbook, I. 539. 4 See note 7, p. 235, above. 

6 Onate gave the distance as twenty-two leagues to the first pueblo and thirty- 
two to the last. 

6 It is quite certain that there is a corruption here. The sense is better 
satisfied by "manner" (manera) in place of "number" (ntimero). 

268 



1604] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 269 

45. In the province of Zuni are deposits of silver of so fine 
a blue that they use it for paint and carry it to sell to the 
settlements of New Mexico. I brought some stones to show, 
and the painters told me it was the best blue in the world, 
and that in this city 1 each pound of it was worth twelve 
pesos, and that there was not a pound to be had. Likewise 
the green of New Mexico, in particular that of Homex, 2 is 
extremely fine in the leaf ; and of these two sorts whole car- 
goes could be gathered to bring here. 

46. They set out from Mooqui and at ten leagues toward 
the west they arrived at the Colorado River. 3 They called 
it thus because the water is nearly red ; the river runs from 
southeast to northwest, afterwards turning to the west, and 
they say it enters California. From here to where it empties 
into the sea there are more than a hundred leagues of pine 
forests. From this river they travelled toward the west, 
crossing a mountain range of pine forest which was eight leagues 
across, on whose southern slope runs the San Antonio River, 
seventeen leagues distant from San Jose, 4 which is the Colo- 
rado ; it runs from north to south through rough mountains 
and very high cliffs. It carries little water, but has many 
good fish. From this river forward the land has a temperate 
climate. Five leagues farther on toward the west is the 
Sacramento River. 5 It has as much water as the San Antonio, 
and as many and as good fish. It rises eleven leagues towards 
the west, and runs from northwest to southeast, along the skirts 
of some very high mountains where the Spaniards took out 
very good ores ; 6 and there are many mineral deposits. Until 
they arrived at this place the Spaniards had not found any- 
thing that satisfied them. The place is very well suited for 
the dwelling of the Spaniards ; it is a place where reduction 

1 The City of Mexico. 2 Xemez. 

3 The Little Colorado ; the Rio de la Alameda of Farfan. Farfan gave the 
distance, perhaps from a different pueblo, as nine leagues. 

4 Farfan gave the distance from the Little Colorado to the Agua del Valle 
as thirteen and one-half leagues. It is probable that the San Antonio River is 
the same. From the course described, it is clearly the western branch of the Rio 
Verde. 

6 Farfan reached "a very good river" at six leagues from the Agua del Valle. 
6 From this it is inferred that prospecting was done in a region farther east 
than that in which Farfan did most of his. 



270 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1604 

works can be erected ; there are good lands for crops, beauti- 
ful fields and pasture for stock, and plentiful water. In this 
mountain range the Cruzados Indians 1 have their homes. 
They live in scattered dwellings, 2 the houses being of straw ; 
they plant no crops ; they live on the game which they kill, 
deer and mountain sheep, of which there are many. With 
the skins both the men and women cover their loins ; all go 
shod, little and big. They also use for food mescali, which is 
a preserve of the root of maguey. 

47. They call these Indians Cruzados on account of some 
crosses which all, little and big, suspend from the lock of hair 
that falls over the forehead ; and this they do when they see 
the Spaniards. The origin of this custom was not known at 
that time ; subsequently it has been learned that many years 
ago there travelled through that land a religious of my father 
San Francisco who told them that if at any time they should 
see men bearded and white, in order that they might not molest 
or injure them they should put on those crosses, which is a 
thing esteemed by them. They remembered it so well that 
they have not forgotten it. The men are well-featured and 
noble; the women are handsome, with beautiful eyes, and 
they are affectionate. 3 These Indians said that the sea was 
distant from there twenty days' journey, of those which they 
travel, which are calculated at about five leagues. It is to 
be noticed that none of these nations was caught in a lie. 
They also said that two days' journey from there was a river 
of little water, 4 by which they went to another very large one 5 
which enters into the sea, and on whose banks there was a 
nation called Amacava, 6 and, a short distance beyond, many 
nations who plant and gather maize, beans, and gourds. 

They left the Sacramento River, travelling between west 
and southwest fifteen leagues, finding at every step good water- 
ing-places. They arrived at the river of little water; it is 

1 The Yavapai. See note to the Farfan documents, p. 242, above, note 2. 
Farfan encountered the Cruzados two leagues beyond the Agua del Valle. This 
confirms the conclusion that the latter was identical with the San Antonio River. 

2 "Son rancheros." A rancho usually meant a separate house; a rancheria, 
a group of houses. To say that they are ranchers conveys an entirely erroneous 
idea. 

3 The Yavapai women are still noted for their good looks. 

* Bill Williams Fork. B The Colorado. 6 Mohave. 



1604] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 271 

called San Andres. 1 *From here the country has a hot climate. 
There were many pitayas 2 and different kinds of trees. They 
travelled along it twenty-four leagues, and arrived at the large 
river, which they sought because of the report which the In- 
dians had given. It is called Buena Esperanza River, 3 and 
at the sea it is called Tizon River. It carries as much water 
as the Duero, and is as quiet as the Guadalquivir. It runs 
from northwest to southeast and soon forms a narrow channel 
between high mountains which cross it; and after passing 
these narrows it flows from northwest [sic] to southwest, hav- 
ing on both sides very high mountains 4 which run in the same 
direction, forming on the banks a wide river bottom.* 5 

48. The next day after having arrived, the adelantado sent 
Captain Geronimo Marquez with four soldiers up the river to 
discover this nation of the Amacavas Indians. In a short 
time he brought two Indians, whom the adelantado regaled 
and sent to call the rest. They said that they would do it 
and that they would bring something to eat. On the day 
following, as the adelantado saw that the Indians were mak- 
ing loads, he ordered that twelve soldiers should prepare to 
go to the settlement for provisions; but before the soldiers 
went, there arrived more than forty Indians loaded with 
maize, beans, and gourds. Then arose an Indian who was 
called Curraca, which in their language means Lord, and made 
a long speech, giving to understand, as was supposed, that he 
was pleased to have seen the Spaniards and that he desired 
their friendship. 

49. Here was heard the first news of the Lake of Copalla, 6 
whence they suppose the Mexicans set out who settled this 
New Spain. They described this lake and land and all its 

1 The main stream of Bill Williams Fork. The name San Andres was given 
to one of the richest mines discovered by the Farfan party. 

2 Pitahaya, the cereus giganteus, whose fruit was much used as food by the 
tribes of the Southwest. 

3 The Colorado River. It is about fifty miles from the junction of Big 
Sandy and Santa Maria rivers to the Colorado. 

4 The Chocolate Mountains run parallel with the river, on both sides, for a 
long distance. 

5 The lines between the * * are omitted from the translation in the Land 
of Sunshine. See vol. XII., p. 48. 

6 The country sought by Ibarra in 1563 was called Copala. 



272 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1604 

banks as densely populated. An Indian said Copalla very 
plainly, and Captain Geronimo Marquez told me that, hear- 
ing those Indians talk to a Mexican Indian, servant of a sol- 
dier, one of them asked, "Whence comes this man? Is he 
perhaps from Copalla? because those from there talk thus." 
And those Indians also said that those of that language wore 
bracelets of gold, on the wrists and on the fleshy part of the 
arms and in their ears, and that from there they were fourteen 
days' journey, of those which they travelled. They pointed 
to this language between west and northwest. The Indians 
also said that the Spaniards could travel by this river bottom 
all the way to the sea, and that it was ten days' journey, of 
those which they travel, and that it was all populated. This 
river can be navigated. 

They set out from here and travelled five leagues without 
seeing Indians, because the mountain was very rough and the 
road narrow and steep ; but beyond this narrow pass there is 
a wide river bottom, very thickly settled. Here as many 
Indians came out with food to receive the Spaniards as in the 
last rancheria. They are of the same nation. Being asked 
about the sea they said that down the river it was nine days' 
journey, but if they crossed the river it was only four. This 
river they kept on the north and they travelled toward the 
northwest. It did not seem proper to the adelantado to leave 
off following the river down stream, so he continued, travelling 
through its bottom lands, seeing always many Indians, asking 
all of them about the sea, which they now knew was called 
"acilla," and all answered pointing to the west, northwest, 
north, northeast, and east, saying that thus the sea curved, and 
was rather near, for they said that from the other side of the 
river it was only four days' journey, and that that Gulf of Cali- 
fornia is not closed, 1 but is an arm of the sea which corresponds 
to the North Sea and coast of Florida. All the Indians of this 
river are comely and good-featured ; and the women are hand- 
some, and whiter than those of New Spain, being people of 
whom the men go naked and the women 2 in skins, having the 

1 Father Zarate was writing at a time when it was generally believed that 
California was an island, which was not the case when Onate made his journey. 
See the relation by Father Ascension. 

2 Ellos for ellas. 



1604] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 273 

loins covered. Always when these Indians travel they carry 
a lighted firebrand in the hand, for which I think it should 
be called Tizon River. Thus declared a soldier of this journey 
who had gone with Sebastian Vizcaino to California ; he said 
that he went in search of the Tizon River, and I believe that 
had he reached it he would not have returned, as he did, for 
lack of food, because there is much here. 

50. Having passed this nation of Amacabos, of which, as \J 
of the others, they saw only what was along the road, they ar- 
rived at the nation of Bahacechas. 1 The language is almost 
the same, they are friends, and they communicate with each 
other. The dwellings of all those of this river are low, of wood, 
and covered with earth. The chief of this nation is called 
Cohota. He came out with a great following to the road to 
receive the Spaniards and to beg them not to pass on that 
day, but to remain over night in his pueblo; and this was 
done to please him. This Indian and his people told of many 
things and secrets of the land. They asked them about the 
lake of Copalla and he said the same as has been told ; and on 
showing them a gold toothpick, he put it to his wrist as if 
putting it around, giving to understand that the Indians of 
that lake wore bracelets of that material. The adelantado 
showed them a coral, and being asked where there was some 

of that, they pointed toward the south. They said that the 
Indians of the coast took them out of the sea, and that the sea 
when it is rough casts many ashore, and that the Indians dig 
in the sand and take it out to sell. This about the coral was 
said by all the Indians where they passed, and it was seen to 
be the truth, as much was found in the possession of the In- 
dian women. 

51. After having passed this place, and while resting in 
the pueblo of Captain Otata, of the same nation, they asked 
him and his people some questions and showed them some 
silver buttons; and they declared, in the presence of many 
soldiers, that near there, pointing toward the west, there was 
much of that substance, and that it was called nam querro. 
They showed them a silver spoon, and as soon as they saw it 
they said that the bowls and pots from which they ate were 

1 Bandelier thought this tribe to be either a branch of the Mohave or of the 
Huallapais. Arch. Inst, of Am. Papers, III. 110. 



274 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1604 

of the same substance, and they indicated that they were 
very big and deep. They rolled a plate of silver so that it 
would make a noise, giving to understand that the others 
sound the same when they fall on the ground, and that they 
do not break ; and putting a silver plate on the fire with water 
in it they said that in the place they told about they boiled 
meat in those articles; but that the others, although they 
were of the same material, were large. And this performance 
was of their own accord, without anyone's suggesting it to 
them. Ajid striking the plate several times with a knife 
and letting it fall upon it with violence, so that it would make 
more noise, they said that the others sounded the same, and 
that they were no farther than five days' journey from there, 
drawing on the ground the sea, and in the middle of it an island, 
which they call Zinogaba, which is the name of the nation that 
inhabits it. To this island one goes by sea in canoes or boats, 
and since from the coast there it is only one day's sail, they 
set out in the morning and are there before sunset. They 
showed on the ground the size of the boat, drawing a line on 
the ground; he commenced to measure, and the boat was 
seventy feet long and twenty wide. On asking them if the 
boat carried a sail in the middle, the Indian took a stick and 
put it in the middle of the boat which he had drawn, with an 
Indian at the stern, making as if he managed the rudder. He 
then took a cloth and, stretching out his arms on the stick that 
he had set up, started to run as fast as he could, saying that 
thus the others ran through the water, and much faster. It 
is certain that if the Indians had not seen it they would not 
know how to draw it so perfectly. They said also that the in- 
habitants of that island all wear around the neck and in the 
ears pearl shells, which they call "xicullo." They also told of 
an instrument with which they make the sound when they 
dance. It is a long stick from which are pendant many pieces 
of that metal of which they make dishes from which they 
eat; and, making a great noise, they dance in pairs to the 
sound. 

52. With all these reports, the adelantado did not wish to 
leave off going in search of a port, as it was so easy to see, 
with the advantage of guides, for they volunteered for that 
purpose. Having passed this nation of Bahacecha they ar- 



1604] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 275 

rived at the nation of Ozaras 1 Indians, a difficult tongue; 
the Indians are ill-featured, less affable, and from them little 
satisfaction and less security can be had. These Indians are 
settled along a large river, although not of as much water as 
that of Buena Esperanza. It is called Nombre de Jesus River ; 2 
it runs between bare mountains, and flows into the Buena 
Esperanza from southeast to northwest, twenty leagues before 
reaching the sea. It was learned that all the river is inhab- 
ited by this nation, and that the people are numerous. They 
drew on the ground twenty rancherias or pueblos of this nation. 
They make mantas of cotton ; the dress and hair are different 
from the rest ; the hair is long and they wear it braided, and 
then covered with a cloth or deer skin. The river makes many 
basins 3 in this meadow. Here they saw some good and sweet 
oak acorns, which the Indians said were from the other side of 
the river, and that there were many of them. On asking about 
the source of the Buena Esperanza River, the Indians said 
that it is near the sea, toward the northwest, and that from 
its source to where it enters the sea it is one hundred and sixty 
leagues, all populated, and that at its source range buffaloes 
and deer of the kind as big as horses, from which it is seen that 
it is good level country and well watered. 

From this river of Nombre de Jesus to the sea it is very 
thickly settled with more people than had been seen hitherto ; 
but the language is like that of Bahacecha, 4 and if it is not 
the same, they differ very little. The dress, the manner of 
living, and the houses are the same, and they are well-featured 
and comely. All came out to receive the Spaniards, and offered 
them their food. Among these Indians were found many 
white pearl-shells and other shells, very large and shining, 
which they make into squares 5 and drills, which are very 
sightly. These Indians said that on the coast toward the west 
there were many of those shells, and they indicated that the 
sea ran behind a very large mountain, on the skirts of which 
the Buena Esperanza River enters the sea. From these In- 
dians they again informed themselves anew of all the things 

1 Supposed by Bandelier to be the Maricopa. Arch. Inst, of Am. Papers, 
HI. 110. 

2 "Name of Jesus"; the Gila. 

3 Her os. 4 The Yuman. 5 Translation uncertain. 



276 NEW MEXICO: THE OftATE EXPEDITIONS [1604 

that Captain Otata had told of, 1 and they did not differ in 
anything. And showing them a pearl, they gave it a name 
and said there were many and very large. And one Indian, 
coming up to the Father Commissary and taking a rosary of 
large beads that he wore on his neck, said that there were 
pearls as large and thick as the beads of that rosary ; and in 
regard to the island of Zinogaba, they said that the mistress 
or chieftainess of it was a giantess, and that she was called 
Cinacacohola, which means chieftainess or mistress. They 
pictured her as the height of a man-and-a-half of those of the 
coast, and like them very corpulent, very broad, and with big 
feet ; and that she was old, and that she had a sister, also a 
giantess, and that there was no man of her kind, and that she 
did not mingle with anyone of the island. The mystery of her 
reigning on that island could not be solved, whether it was by 
inheritance, or tyranny by force of arms. And they said 
that all on the island were bald, having no hair on the head. 
53. The first nation after passing the Nombre de Jesus 
River is the Halchedoma. 2 There are eight pueblos: the 
first has one hundred and sixty houses, and was judged to 
have about two thousand persons. I have already said that 
they saw only what lay along the road. Next is the nation 
of Cohuana. 3 There are nine pueblos. A great many of 
these went along with the Spaniards. There must have been 
more than six hundred men and women. They camped for 
the night with the Spaniards. Next is the nation Haglli. 4 
There are one hundred pueblos. Next the Tlalliquamallas, 5 
six pueblos. Here more than two thousand persons assem- 
bled when they brought the maize. Next the Cocapas; 6 
there are nine pueblos. This is the last nation seen, and they 
reached to the last place where one can drink fresh water, 
which is five leagues from the sea, because the salt comes up 

1 Hecho for dicho. 

2 Alchedoma, a Yuman tribe. See Hodge, Handbook, I. 36. 

3 Bandelier identified this tribe with the Yuma proper or Cuchan. Arch. 
Inst, of Am. Papers, III. 110. See also Hodge, Handbook, I. 520, II. 1046. 

4 Regarded as part of the Halliquamayas, or Quigyumas (Hodge, Hand- 
book, I. 520; Bandelier, Arch. Inst. Am. Papers, III. 110). 

6 Halliquamaya, or Quigyuma (Hodge, Handbook, II. 340, 1059). 
6 Still so called. See Hodge, Handbook, I. 319. They are noted for the great 
size of the men. 






1605] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 277 

stream that far. In the space between the Nombre de Jesus 
River and the arrival at the sea they saw more than twenty- 
thousand persons on that side of the river alone. They said 
that on the other side they were innumerable, but only the 
smokes were seen. The Indians said that they did not cross 
to the other side because the others were their enemies, al- 
though of the same nation, and that they came and killed 
them and did great harm to them, by which it can be seen 
that the others are numerous. 

They arrived on San Ildefonso's day 1 at the last stopping 
place, nearest to the sea, and the last where water can be 
drunk. Then, the day of the conversion of San Pablo, 2 having 
sung mass, the adelantado and religious, with nine soldiers, 
set out and arrived at a wonderful port, which port and bay 
are made by the Buena Esperanza River when it enters the 
sea. We call it Port of the Conversion of San Pablo. So 
large is this port that more than a thousand vessels can anchor 
in it without hindrance to one another. The river enters the 
sea by a mouth four leagues wide. It forms in the middle of 
the mouth a small, low island, not of sand, as is all the coast, 
but of mud, the whole island, which must be about two leagues 
long from northwest to southeast. 3 

From what could be seen, it forms a great shelter 4 to the 
bay; the island enters it by that river, southeast-by-east, 
dividing it into two mouths, one to the east and one to the 
southeast, each being more than a league and a half wide. 
The port is guarded and protected from the south and west 
by a mountain range, 5 between whose bases the river enters 
the sea, which there trends nearly north and south, or north- 
west and southeast ; and a point of the range runs more than 
six leagues into the sea. 6 On the east this port or bay has 
another mountain range, 7 which runs seaward from north- 
east to southwest. It is seen seven leagues distant from the 
bay ; it ends and terminates at the sea in seven or eight small 
hills or buttes, with low points. Beyond these, on the edge 

1 January 23. 2 January 25. 

3 Montague Island answers this description. 

4 Or barrier ; the word is reparo. 5 Sierra Gigantia ( ?) 

6 This might be Shell Point, or Point Diggs farther south. 

7 Sierra Sonoyta. 



278 NEW MEXICO: THE ON ATE EXPEDITIONS [1605 

of the land, it forms a point, higher than the rest, in which 
the range ends. On the west side, which is the one next to 
the bay, it ends in three small hills or round points, somewhat 
more elevated than those of the other range, and the last of 
these is higher than the other two. Beyond these, toward the 
edge of the land, it forms a more elevated point, whence the 
range forms a sharp ridge which runs inland more than twenty 
leagues south-southeast and north-northwest. The gulf, on 
this coast where they were, trends east and west, and doubling 
the point of this mountain range on the west side, which as I 
have already said enters the sea more than six leagues, it runs 
behind this mountain northward, 1 according to what all the 
Indians said, both those of the coast and those of the river, 
for they declared that it turns to the north, northeast, and east. 

54. The adelantado, Don Juan de Onate, took possession 
of this port in the name of his Majesty, and gave possession 
in his Majesty's name to the Father Commissary, Fray Fran- 
cisco de Escobar, in order that our sacred religion may settle 
and people that land and the others next it and round about, 
and that we may occupy ourselves in the conversion of the 
natives in the place and places most suited to our mode of 
life. 

55. We took this possession on the 25th of the month of 
January, day of the conversion of the Apostle St. Paul, patron 
of those provinces and of the Custodia of New Mexico, in the 
year of our Lord 1605, for the glory and honor of God our 
Lord. 

56. This done, the adelantado and those who had gone 
with him returned to the camp, in order that the rest of the 
soldiers might go and certify to the sea. They did so, the 
space of four days being spent therein. Some soldiers stated 
that they had seen tunny-fish, and that they knew them be- 
cause they were men from Spain. Having seen this, 2 they 
came back by the same way they had gone, being as well re- 
ceived by the Indians and with the same hospitality as when 
going. 

Having arrived among the Ozaras Indians, as they had 

1 This interpretation of what the Indians said agreed with the theory cur- 
rent when Zarate wrote, that California was an island. 

2 He refers now to the return of the whole party to New Mexico. 



1605] JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA 279 

already inquired of the other nations, and all had said that 
this nation is very extensive and runs along the coast, and that 
these are the ones who get from the sea the coral which they 
call quacame, they made inquiry and found a few. They said 
that since they were a long distance from the coast they 
did not have many; but further up the Buena Esperanza 
River, among Indians of this same nation, a few more were 
found, and in the province of Zuni still more were found 
and bartered for. They 1 said the Indians of the valleys of 
Seiiora 2 brought them there to sell; and that they are no 
more than seven days' journey from there, 3 and that they get 
them out of the sea, and are not far from there ; and that this 
nation extends to that place. This sea they pointed out 
toward the south and southwest. Father Fray Francisco de 
Escobar found that from the province of New Mexico to the 
sea, on the road alone, there were ten different languages. 4 
This priest was so able and had so fine a memory that wherever 
he went he promptly learned the tongue, and so on the return 
journey he talked with all the nations and they all understood 
him. 

They arrived at the Bahacechas where, on going, Chief 
Otata and the others had given so many reports of the coun- 
try, of the lake of Copalla and of the gold, and of the island 
of gold and silver. On examining them again, they made the 
same statement as on the journey going, without varying it 
in any respect. They went through the same performance 
with the plate of silver as on the outward journey, as has been 
said; only they added that this silver was taken out of the 
top of a hill which was on the further side of the island, behind 
which the sun hides when it sets; and they said that they 
cut it out with a hard instrument. Being asked if it was of 
the same they said no, and gave to understand that it was 
something dark-yellow; and being shown a small sheet of 
brass, they said it was not of that material. Seeing that they 
were not understood, one of them rose and went to the ade- 
lantado's kitchen and took hold of a copper kettle and said 
that the instrument with which was cut the metal of which 
they made their bowls and pots was like that. 

1 The Zunis. 2 Sonora. 3 Zuni. 

4 Leguas, a misprint for lenguas (Lummis). 



280 NEW MEXICO: THE ONATE EXPEDITIONS [1605 

The Spaniards set out from here, and Chief Otata came 
forth to the road to receive them, with a great following and 
a tumult of ceremonies, as is their custom, flinging their bows 
and arrows to earth. He gave the governor a string of white 
beads which he wore on his neck, and the Father Commis- 
sary another, which among them is a great gift. These he 
had sent to the island of Zinogova to purchase with some cotton 
mantas, which on going the governor had given him for that 
purpose. It is plainly to be seen that the island is near since 
he had gone and returned in so short a time. They again ex- 
amined them about everything and in nothing did they con- 
tradict themselves. 

57. They told of many prodigies of nature which God has 
created between the Buena Esperanza River and the sea, and 
which have caused incredulity in the hearers. When we see 
them we will affirm them under oath ; but in the meantime I 
refrain from mentioning them, and pass them by in silence. 
And to put an end to this journey, I will say that after having 
endured much hardship and hunger (even coming to eat their 
horses) which, lest I be too long, I do not recount, they reached 
the villa of San Gabriel on their return, all sound and well, 
and not a man missing, on the 25th of April of the year 1605. 
There they rested, and were as well received as they had been 
anxiously awaited. 



III. EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT 
IN TEXAS, 1675-1690 

1. THE BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION, 1675 



INTRODUCTION 

In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
the frontiers of New Spain had expanded northeastward as 
well as northward and northwestward. In the sixteenth cen- 
tury the three columns of advancing outposts had kept a 
nearly equal pace. In 1522 Cortes founded Panuco, and by 
1565 the advance up the central plateau had resulted in con- 
quests as far to the northeast as Saltillo and perhaps as far 
as Monterey. Advance was now made again along the Gulf 
plain when in 1579 Luis de Carabajal was authorized to found 
the new Kingdom of Nuevo Leon. This province was to ex- 
tend two hundred leagues north from Panuco, thus embracing 
much territory now within the state of Texas. In (or by) 
1583 Carabajal took a colony inland, opened the mines of 
San Gregorio, and founded the capital city of Leon, now Cer- 
ralvo, a few miles south of the Rio Grande. Within the next 
few years several points were settled between Cerralvo and 
Monterey, and in 1590 Carabajal founded the Villa de Alma- 
den, where Monclova now stands. While there he was arrested 
by order of the Inquisition and taken to Mexico, leaving Cas- 
tano de Sosa in charge. But Sosa, as has been stated else- 
where, promptly deserted the place and led his colony to New 
Mexico. In 1603 and again in 1644 efforts were made to open 
the mines at Almaden, but without success, and Cerralvo re- 
mained the northeastern outpost. 

Attention was drawn beyond this frontier, however, by 
various interests. There was frequent talk of establishing 
communication with Florida by land. To discover a rumored 
Silver Hill (Cerro de la Plata) somewhere to the north, several 

283 



284 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION 

attempts were made before 1650 from both Nuevo Leon and 
Nueva Vizcaya, but were frustrated by Indian hostilities. 
Soon after that date the pursuit of Indians led the frontier sol- 
diery across the lower Rio Grande. In 1655, after long con- 
tinued troubles, a troop of one hundred and three soldiers, 
supported by more than three hundred Indian allies, was led 
by Fernandez de Azcue against the Cacaxtles. Going north 
from Monterey, at a place twenty-four leagues beyond the 
Rio Grande they encountered the enemy, slew a hundred war- 
riors, and took seventy prisoners. This expedition made by 
Azcue is the first to cross the lower Rio Grande northward of 
which we have explicit information. And it was nearly twenty 
years more before another was made of which we have record. 

Thus by 1670 the Spaniards had barely broken over the 
Rio Grande below the Pecos. Now, however, another forward 
step was taken, the frontier of settlement pushed northeast- 
ward, Coahuila founded, and missionary work extended beyond 
the Rio Grande. The pioneers in this advance were the mis- 
sionaries ; their leader was Father Juan Larios, a Franciscan 
friar of the province of Santiago de Jalisco, whose headquarters 
were at Guadalajara. 

The principal factor in bringing this movement about was 
the Indian situation. The needs of the frontier settlements 
demanded that the Indians of the Coahuila be pacified. Not 
only the settlements of Nuevo Leon, but also those of Nueva 
Vizcaya, and even of Nueva Galicia, were greatly troubled by 
the tribes of the Coahuila district and of the region beyond 
the Rio Grande. The roads between the frontier outposts 
were unsafe for travellers, while mines and ranches were being 
abandoned. On the other hand, it is clear that for several 
years some of the Indians of Coahuila and even from beyond 
the Rio Grande had been asking for missionaries, and, under 
what influences we do not know, had sent messengers to Sal- 
tillo, Parral, Guadalajara, and Mexico City to seek them. 



INTRODUCTION 285 

While on one of these journeys to Guadalajara they came into 
contact with Father Larios, whom they begged to go to aid 
them. 

In response to this call Father Larios went in 1670 to the 
troubled Coahuila frontier, where he seems to have remained 
alone for some three years. Returning to Guadalajara for 
help, in 1673 he went again to Coahuila, accompanied by 
Father Dionysio de Penasco and Fray Manuel de la Cruz, a 
lay brother. Aided by soldiers from Saltillo under Captain 
Elisondo, early in 1674 they founded of the roving tribes two 
Indian settlements, one on the Sabinas River and one to the 
northward of that stream. On one of his missionary trips 
made at this time Fray Manuel is known to have crossed the 
Rio Grande, where he came into contact with the Yrbipiames, 
Gueiquesales, and Boboles. 

Thus far the conquest had been only "en lo espiritual." 
But in May, 1674, Don Antonio Balcarcel Riva de Neira 
Sotomayor was made alcalde mayor of the province of Coahuila, 
or Nueva Estremadura, and charged with its conquest and 
settlement. At the same time the missionary field was more 
completely organized. In November Balcarcel set out from 
Saltillo with settlers, stock, implements, and provisions, and 
a following of Coahuila Indians. Balcarcel's lieutenant was 
Fernando del Bosque, who had been with Elisondo. Father 
Larios, who now had the title of comisario of the missions, met 
Balcarcel a few leagues out. Fray Manuel was also with the 
party, as well as Father Dionysio de San Buenaventura, a new 
missionary. Father Penasco does not appear in the records 
till the following April; he may have remained in the mis- 
sionary field while Father Larios made preparations for larger 
work. 

Beginning at a point twenty leagues from Saltillo, which 
point was regarded as the border of Coahuila, Balcarcel cere- 
moniously took possession of all the important watering places 



286 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION 

on the way, till on the 23d he reached the site of thrice de- 
serted Nuevo Almaden. This place he selected as the head 
of his jurisdiction, and the site of a city called Nuestra Serlora 
de Guadalupe, province of Nueva Estremadura. Municipal 
officers were elected, crops planted, ditches opened, a church 
begun, and by February 25 the outlines of a civil settlement 
were complete. 

Meanwhile Father Larios and Fray Manuel were sent out 
to assemble the northern Indians with a view to establishing 
them in pueblos. In the course of the next five months they 
brought in the chiefs, sometimes with followers, of band after 
band, who made submission, received pardon for past wrongs, 
and were promised aid. By the end of April an Indian set- 
tlement, called Pueblo de la Luna, had been founded near 
Guadalupe. It was designed in the first place for the Bobole 
following, but as other bands arrived they were temporarily 
added to it, until the host was found to be too great and com- 
posed of too many hostile elements to be cared for on one spot. 1 

By this time, moreover, because of the declarations of the 
chiefs concerning the great number of Indians beyond the 
Rio Grande, especially near Sierra Dacate, of the petitions 
which they brought from their bands, and of the aversion of 
the different groups toward settling together, it was decided 
before proceeding further to send an expedition across the Rio 
Grande, to learn the facts of the Indian situation. 

Being in ill health himself, Balcarcel entrusted the mission 
to Fernando del Bosque. Besides Fathers Larios and San 

1 For a sketch of the expansion of the northeastern frontier of New Spain 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, see Bolton, "The Spanish Occupation 
of Texas, 1519-1690," in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XVI. 11-17, 
See also Alonso DeLeon, Historia de Nuevo Leon (Mexico, 1909) ; Esteban L 
Portillo, Apuntes para la Historia Antigua de Coahuila y Texas (Saltillo, 1888) 
E. J. Gonzalez, Lecciones Orales de Historia de Nuevo Leon (Monterey, 1887) 
E. J. Gonzalez, Coleccion de Noticias y Documentos para la Historia del Estado 
de Nuevo Le6n (Monterey, 1885) ; Alejandro Prieto, Historia, Geografia y Esta- 
distica del Estado de Tamaulipas (Mexico, 1873). 



INTRODUCTION 287 

Buenaventura, who went to take ecclesiastical possession of 
the country, Bosque was ordered to take ten Spaniards, La- 
zaro Agustin, governor of the Pueblo de la Luna and inter- 
preter, the Bobole chief, Juan de la Cruz, accompanied by 
twenty-one of his men, and one hundred Gueiquesale warriors, 
these to be recruited beyond the Nadadores. He was to go 
as far as the Sierra Dacate (Sacatsol) or farther, if necessary, 
to take royal possession, see the Indians, aid the missionaries, 
and bring back a full report. 

On the same day that he received his instructions Bosque 
set out northward, which direction, according to his diary, he 
continued to follow to the end of his journey. His return was 
by a more westward route. Of each of the stopping places on 
the way he took possession, giving it a name, while the mis- 
sionaries set up a portable altar which they carried, said mass, 
and instructed the Indians whom they encountered. 

In regard to the names and numbers of Indians no details 
are given before the crossing of the Rio Grande, Bosque's 
objective point being the country beyond. The distances 
given in the diary are thirty leagues to the Sabinas, thirty-one 
from that stream to the Rio Grande, nineteen to Sierra Dacate, 
and twenty-three leagues beyond that point to San Pablo, 
the last place reached. From the statements regarding direc- 
tions and relative distances to the Sabinas and the Rio Grande, 
it is inferred that the route was northeast, toward Eagle Pass 
or above. The Ona River, crossed eleven leagues beyond the 
Rio Grande, was in all probability a branch of the Nueces, 
and it seems not improbable that the Sierra Dacate was the 
present Anacacho Mountain, and that San Pablo, the limit 
of the journey, was in Edwards County. 1 

North of the Rio Grande, Bosque and Larios encountered 
Indians of the Yorica, Jeapa, Bibit, Pinanaca, Xaeser, Teni- 

1 From other data we know that Sierra Sacatsol was between San Juan 
Bautista and the Pecos. 



288 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION 

mama, Cocoma, Xoman, Teroodan, Teaname, Teimamar, 
Gueiquesale, and Geniocane tribes, some of whom lived on the 
other side but had crossed over to hunt buffalo. Among the 
Gueiquesales he rescued a Spanish boy who had lived among 
the Indians so long that he had forgotten his own language. 

Returning to Guadalupe in June, Bosque reported that 
the country, so far as he had seen it, comprised three chains 
of settlements. That extending northward from Guadalupe on 
the left hand was of the following of Chief Esteban, Gueique- 
sale; the middle one comprised the followers of the Bobole 
chief, Juan de la Cruz ; that on the right, or to the northeast, 
was of the Catujane following. Other reports added a fourth 
group lying to the northwest, under the leadership of the Sali- 
neros, but included by Bosque in the Gueiquesale following. 
In view of their great numbers, of their racial differences, and 
of their hostility toward each other, Bosque recommended 
three principal settlements, independent and separate, served 
by twelve missionaries, and kept in order by a presidio of not 
less than seventy soldiers. 

The Bosque-Larios expedition across the Rio Grande, 
though not great in size or extent, was important in its bear- 
ings. Taken with the preliminary reconnaissance of Fray 
Manuel de la Cruz a few months before, it is the earliest well- 
authenticated missionary expedition on record to cross the 
Rio Grande from the south at any point below the Pecos. 
Bosque's report on the Indian situation is one of the most valu- 
able extant for the region and period. As a result of the re- 
ports and recommendations of Bosque and Father Larios, 
four missions were soon established in the Coahuila district, 
to serve Indians living to the north as well as to the south of 
the Rio Grande. And now the Tejas, Indians living far on 
the Louisiana border, rose above the Coahuila horizon. In 
1676 the Bishop of Guadalajara visited Monclova, and one 
of the reasons which he gave for favoring the adoption of the 



INTRODUCTION 289 

measures urged by Bosque was the opportunity it would af- 
ford to reach and convert the more important Tejas, beyond. 

The principal source of information for the Bosque-Larios 
expedition is a manuscript in the archives of Saltillo, Coahuila, 
entitled: "Autos de la conquista de la Prov a de Coahuila 
hecha en este ano por D. Antonio Balcarcel, Alc e Mayor de 
ella : gente que condujo : asiento y fundacion de la ciudad de 
N. Sra. de Guadalupe Prov* 1 de la Nva. Extremadura a 8 de 
Dbre de dho ano (hoy Monclova) : Religiosos que lo acom- 
panaron en esta empresa: conversiones de las naciones bar- 
baras que encontraron : Expedicion de Fernando del Bosque, 
Ten* 6 de Ale 6 Mayor a la parte del Norte : descubrim to de 
la tierra y nombres que puso a los diversos parajes en que 
estubo, hasta la otra banda del Rio g e del Norte. Ereccion 
de las primeras miciones y naciones de que compusieron. 
Tiene este Quad no 64 foxas sin 19 que le faltan al principio, 
y quedan en 45 utiles" (Archivo de la Secretaria de Gobierno 
del Estado de Coahuila, legajo no. 1, Anos 1688 d, 1736). 

This document consists of the original records (autos) of 
the preparation of the Balcdrcel expedition, the march to the 
site of abandoned Nuevo Almaden, the founding there of the 
City of Guadalupe and of Pueblo de la Luna, the Bosque- 
Larios expedition, and some subsequent events. These autos 
are followed by copies of the original records of the preparation 
of Father Larios at Guadalajara and Saltillo for his expedition 
in 1673, and of his expedition with Elisondo to Coahuila in 
1673-1674. They contain also a report by Balcarcel dated 
July 6, 1675, to the audiencia of Guadalajara. In 1888 these 
documents were printed, with essential completeness, but with 
numerous minor inaccuracies, in Esteban L. Portillo's Apuntes 
para la Historia Antigua de Coahuila y Texas, pp. 44-181. In 
1903 an abstract of the autos of the Bosque expedition across 
the Rio Grande was printed in the National Geographic Maga- 
zine (XIV. 339-348), as "Translated from an Old Unpublished 



290 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION 

Spanish Manuscript by Betty B. Brewster." Presumably the 
translator used the manuscript in the archives at Saltillo, since 
it is evident that she had not seen the printed version which 
had appeared in the same city fifteen years before. The intro- 
duction preceding that translation gives a brief abstract of a 
part of the earlier documents, but besides containing grave in- 
accuracies it conveys no idea of the bearing of the expedition. 
The translation is likewise unsatisfactory. It is very much ab- 
breviated, especially in the difficult places. While it gives 
most of the essentials with general accuracy, it is exceedingly 
free and inexact in matters of detail. A new translation, 
therefore, has been made. 






DIARY OF FERNANDO DEL BOSQUE, 1675 1 

In the province of Nueba Estremadura de Quaguila, on 
the 30th day of April, 1675, I, Fernando de el Bosque, lieu- 
tenant alcalde mayor 2 of the province, its settlements and con- 
quest, and its royal ensign, acting as notary public, according 
to orders, there being no public or royal notary within more 
than one hundred leagues, set out this day from the city of 
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, of said province, in fulfillment 
of the orders of Captain Don Antonio de Balcarcel Riba de 
Neira Sotomaior, alcalde mayor of said province, which appear 
in an auto 3 which he drew this day (and which is filed in the 
original autos of settlement and conquest) arising from the 
petition of Pablo, Indian chief of the nation of Manosprietas, 
and the other nations from the Rio del Norte and its vicinity, 4 
and the rest contained in the auto to which I refer. 

And having set out with the Spaniards and governor, cap- 
tain, ensign, and the Indians of the pueblo of San Miguel de 
Luna, of said city, and in company with the fathers, the com- 
missary missionary, 5 Fray Juan Larios, and Fray Dionisio de 
San Buena Ventura, chaplain of said conquest, of the order of 
the Seraphic San Francisco ; and having travelled down the 
river 6 from said city toward the north, I arrived at a place 
which they said was called Pajarito, on said river, about six 
leagues from said city. Finding it unoccupied and uninhab- 
ited, and with no sign of having formerly been inhabited, I 
took royal possession in the name of the King, our Lord Carlos 
II., God preserve him. I took said possession in legal form, 

1 "Autos de la conquista de la Prov a de Coahuila" (manuscript in the Archive- 
de la Secretaria de Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila, legajo no. 1, Anos 1688 a 
1736). 

2 Teniente de alcalde mayor. "Lieutenant" is a rather free translation for 
teniente, and yet in this case it conveys the essential meaning. 

3 An auto is a judicial act, such as a decree, writ, or legalized record. In 
the following pages the meaning is usually conveyed by "legal record." 

4 They had asked to be settled in missions. B Comisario misionero. 
6 Rio de Monclova, which runs through Monclova. 

291 



292 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

made a legal record, 1 ordered a high wooden cross erected, and 
walked over the place and along the bank of the river, in 
which I saw many fish, some of which they caught, to which 
I certify. And I named the place San Felipe de Jesus ; and 
in order that it may always be known I set it down in a legal 
record, which I signed with the assisting witnesses, namely 
Ambrosio de Berlanga and Diego Luis Sanches ; and the said 
fathers, the commissary missionary and the chaplain, being 
witnesses, also signed it. Fernando de el Bosque (rubric) ; 
Ambrosio Berlanga (rubric), witness; Diego Luis Sanches 
(rubric), witness; Fray Juan Laeios (rubric) ; Fray Dionysio 
de San Buena Ventura (rubric). 

In said province, on the 2d day of the month of May of 
said year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor of said conquest 
and its settlements, having already left the post of San Felipe 
de Jesus on the first day of this month, and always travelling 
toward the north and down the river, in company with the 
said fathers, the commissary missionary Fray Juan Larios, 
and Chaplain Fray Dionisio de San Buena Ventura, the Span- 
iards, the governor, and Indians, arrived and saw at about 
four leagues, apparently, that this river joined another. And 
travelling along it toward the north, having on the right hand 
and toward the sunrise some large hills with sharp peaks of 
rock, like sugar loaves, and passing beyond them, I arrived 
at the ford of a river called Nadadores. 2 Finding it unpos- 
sessed and uninhabited I took formal possession of all of it 
in the king's name. I walked over the ground and made a 
legal record ; this day Christian instruction was given to the 
Indians ; they caught fish from the river, which carries much 
water. It has cottonwoods and many mesquite trees on its 
banks. It is distant from San Felipe about ten leagues. I 
had a high wooden cross erected on the bank of the river, and 
named the ford and post San Francisco del Paso. I certify 
that I saw taken from the river large catfish, bream, mojarros, 
tortoises, mud-turtles, bobos, and eels, and had them in my 
hands. 8 

1 Hise auto. 2 Still so called. 

3 In this and the following entries the formal statements about signing 
have been omitted to save space, since they are practically identical with that 
in the foregoing entry. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 293 

In said province, on the 4th of the said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out from San Francisco 
del Paso de Nadadores in the company of the fathers com- 
missary missionary and chaplain, and of the Spaniards, the 
governor, and Indians; and having crossed said river, and jour- 
neying north, keeping always on the left a high, long moun- 
tain range which forms what resembles a chain, and runs from 
south to north, 1 and having travelled apparently about four 
leagues, I arrived at an arroyo near a long hill, which flows 
apparently from west to east and has running water, for which 
reason, the Indians said, it was called in their language To- 
porica. 2 I took possession of it in the royal name for said 
settlement and conquest, in witness whereof I had a high 
wooden cross erected, made a legal record, and named it Santa 
Crus. 

In said province, on said day, month, and year, I the said 
lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from the post of 
Santa Crus in said company, and having journeyed toward 
the north about four leagues, with the mountains on the same 
hand as before, arrived at an arroyo which is at the foot of 
a hill and in front of a little peak like a nipple. 3 In it I found 
i-unning water and a growth of tule. I took possession of it 
in the royal name for said settlement and conquest, and 
named it Santa Catalina Martir. 4 As evidence of possession 
I had a high wooden cross erected, made a legal record, and 
performed other necessary legal acts. Instruction was given 
to the Indians. I found this post and the former uninhabited. 

In said province, on the 5th day of the said month and 
year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, left the post and water- 
ing place of Santa Catalina Martir in company with the fathers 
commissary missionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, 
and Indians, and, having journeyed apparently about six 
leagues toward the north, keeping the mountain range on the 

1 Probably the Sierra de Obayas, which lies between Rio Nadadores and Rio 
Aura, and trends from northwest to southeast. Between Rio Aura and Rio de 
Sabinas the mountains are called Sierra de Santa Rosa. 

2 Evidently Rio Aura. 

3 At about this point there is a branch of the Rio Nadadores flowing from 
Sierra de Santa Rosa. 

4 St. Catharine the Martyr. 



294 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

same hand, I arrived at a large river, very beautiful with many 
groves of very large cedars, cottonwoods, and mesquite brush, 
and with great plains of land which are very pleasing with 
green grass. I found it unoccupied and uninhabited. The 
Indians said it was called Rio de las Savinas, 1 and in their 
language Muero. Of it I took possession in the royal name, 
for said settlement and conquest, and named it San Antonio. 
And as evidence of possession I made a legal record, and or- 
dered erected a high wooden cross. In this river are fish of 
all kinds in abundance. They caught piltontes, bream, and 
catfish ; and the Christian doctrine was taught to the Indians 
by the commissary. 

In said province, on the 7th day of said month and year I, 
said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out in company 
with the fathers commissary missionary and chaplain, the 
Spaniards, governor, and Indians, and having travelled north- 
ward apparently about twelve leagues from San Antonio de 
las Sabinas, arrived at a post and watering place which the 
Indians said was called San Ylefonso. 2 Finding it unoccupied 
and uninhabited, with only some ruins of two grass huts, al- 
ready almost rotten, 3 I took royal possession of it in the 
name of his Majesty, for said settlement and conquest, in 
witness whereof I made a legal record, and ordered a high 
wooden cross erected. 

In said province, on the 8th day of said month and year, 4 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out in company with the 
fathers commissary missionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, 
governor, and Indians, from said post of San Ylefonso, and 
having travelled northward apparently about seven leagues, 
I arrived at a watering place where there was plentiful water, 
with wide plains, in the middle of which was much mesquite, 
and which I found unoccupied and uninhabited. The said 
Indians said that in their language it was called Cocomarque 
Jojona. I took possession of it in the name of his Majesty 

1 Rio de Sabinas, called Salado lower down. 

2 San Yldefonso. 

3 Perhaps the remains of the mission settlement established in the previous 
year by Father Larios. 

4 In the Brewster translation the entry for May 8 is omitted, but a part of 
it is run into that for May 7. In this way one day's march is lost. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 295 

for said settlement and conquest, and named it San Juan 
Evanjelista; 1 and as evidence of possession I made a legal 
record, and ordered a high wooden cross erected. Christian 
instruction was given to the Indians by said father commissary. 

In said province, on the 9th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out in company with said 
fathers commissary missionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, 
governor, and Indians, from the post of San Juan Evangelista, 
and having travelled northward apparently about six leagues, 
through some plains with mesquite groves, I arrived at a 
watering place consisting of a marsh with a growth of tule, 
among some low hills having oak trees. Finding it unoccu- 
pied and uninhabited, I took possession of it in the name of 
his Majesty for said settlement and conquest and named it 
San Reymundo de Pena Forte de Fuertes Aires ; and in evi- 
dence of possession I made a legal record and ordered a high 
wooden cross erected. Religious instruction was given to 
the Indians by Father Fray Dionisio de San Buenabentura. 

In said province, on the 10th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out from said post of San 
Reymundo in company with said fathers commissary mission- 
ary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, and Indians, and 
having journeyed northward apparently about three leagues, 
I arrived at a river which runs from west to east, which the 
Indians said was called El Agua Asul. 2 In it there are many 
fish of all kinds. It is very pleasing to the sight, having many 
cottonwoods, willows, mesquites and guisaches, 3 and wide plains 
with very green grass. Finding it unoccupied and uninhabited, 
I took possession of it in the name of his Majesty for said 
settlement and conquest, and named it San Jocefe 4 River. As 
evidence of possession I made a legal record and ordered a 
high wooden cross erected ; and religious instruction was given 
to the Indians by the fathers. 

In said province, on the 11th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out from the post and San 
Jocefe River in company with the fathers commissary and 
chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, and Indians, and having 
travelled northward apparently about three leagues through 

1 St. John the Evangelist. 2 The blue water. 

3 A small shrub. 4 St. Joseph. 



296 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

plains with much mesquite, and with fine pastures of green 
grass, I arrived at a very copious and very wide river, with a 
current more than four hundred varas across, which the In- 
dians said was called Rio del Norte. I found it unoccupied 
and uninhabited, with only rancherias of Indians, consisting 
of dwellings of grass huts after their custom. Having passed 
up stream in search of a ford and not having found one, as it 
is very deep, the said Indians decided to take us across at a 
place where the river forms three branches. 1 It was neces- 
sary to make a raft of poles to cross the middle one, having 
forded the first, which is more than two hundred varas wide 
and a vara and a half deep, with the water above the stirrup 
and near the hind bow of the saddle, with a current the whole 
width, and with willow and osier brush on a little island which 
is in the middle. On its banks it is very pleasing, and it had 
many fish, such as catfish, piltontes, very large turtles, and 
eels, all of which kinds were caught in my presence, and which, 
I certify, I took in my hands. I took royal possession of the 
river and its territory in the name of his Majesty. It runs, 
apparently, from west to east. And for said settlement and 
conquest I named it San Buena Ventura River ; and as evi- 
dence of possession I made a legal record and ordered a high 
wooden cross erected; and religious instruction was given to the 
Indians by the father chaplain. 

In said province, on the 13th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, set out from said Rio de San 
Buenabentura del Norte in company with said fathers com- 
missary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, and Indians, 
and having travelled northward apparently about four leagues, 
I arrived at an arroyo between hills, where I found fifty-four 
adult heathen Indians of the Yorica and Jeapa nations, loaded 
with tierces of jerked buffalo meat. I had them examined 
through interpretation of Don Lasaro Augustin, the governor, 
who is versed in their language and in Castilian ; and having 
asked many questions, they said that they came to kill buf- 
faloes and get meat for sustenance for themselves and their 
families and rancherias, since they were obliged, through hav- 
ing no food in the places where they lived, to come to seek it 

1 Evidently a place where the river widened out and formed islands. The 
Rio Grande is notable for its shifting back and forth. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 297 

at a distance; that they were numerous, but could not say- 
exactly how many ; that they wished to be Christians and set- 
tled in a pueblo, and that the religious should give them Chris- 
tian instruction; that through fear of other nations, their 
enemies, they have not come out to seek it, but wander at a 
distance ; that the enemies had killed one of them, and that 
the ones who did it were of the Ocane, Pataguaque, and Yur- 
bipame nations ; and that as evidence that they were obedient 
to the King our lord, they would go with me to the place where 
the Indian nations of the Sierra Dacate y Yacasole 1 are, and 
would send to their rancherias to have them come out to a 
place where they might be given Christian instruction. Of 
this place I took royal possession in the name of his Majesty 
for said settlement and conquest, and in evidence of it I made 
a legal record, and ordered a high wooden cross erected. 
Christian instruction was given to all the Indians by said 
father chaplain, and I named said post San Gregorio Nasian- 
seno. 

In said province, on the 14th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out in company 
with the fathers commissary missionary and chaplain, the 
Spaniards, governor, and Indians, both those who came from 
the city of Guadalupe and the Yoricas and Jeapas mentioned 
in the preceding auto, and having travelled from the post of 
San Gregorio Nasianseno about three leagues toward the north, 
arrived at a watering place in a plain without any trees ex- 
cept mesquite groves. Finding it unoccupied and uninhabited 
I took royal possession of it in the name of his Majesty, and 
named it San Bisente Ferrer ; 2 and Christian instruction was 
given to said Indians by said commissary missionary. 

In said province and in said post of San Bisente Ferrer on 

1 It seems quite possible that the Sierra Dacate (Yacasol, Sacatsol, Yacatsol), 
was Anacacho Mountain. Early in the eighteenth century Captain Diego 
Ramon pursued Indians above San Juan Bautista, and having crossed the hills 
called "Yacatsol" he reached wide plains and beyond them the Pecos River. 
Thus the Sierra Yacasol was between San Juan Bautista and the Pecos ("Relacion 
del P e Hidalgo De la Quivira," MS.). Assuming the word Yacasol to have 
been accented on the penult, "Yacasol," it would approach Anacacho in sound. 
Father Massanet stated in 1690 that Sacatsol meant "stone nostrils" (see his 
letter, p. 356). 

2 San Vicente Ferrer. 



298 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

said day, month, and year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, 
certify and testify that in my presence there were killed by 
said Indians and Spaniards three buffalo bulls and two buffalo 
cows for the people to eat. The meat is very savory. The 
form of the buffalo is very ugly. Although large, they resem- 
ble cows and bulls. Their hair is shaggy. The withers are 
very high, making them appear humpbacked, and their necks 
are large. The head is short and very shaggy, so that the 
wool covers the eyes and prevents them from seeing well. 
The horns are small and thick, but like those of the bull. The 
hips and haunches are like those of a hog, and the tail is bare 
except at the end, where there are long bristles. The hoofs 
are cloven, and at the knees and from there up to the shoulder 
there is much bristle-like hair, like he-goats. The females are 
of the same sort and have four teats. They gaze at the people 
sidewise like wild hogs, with hair abristle. They are of the 
size of cattle. 

In said post of San Bisente Ferrer, on said day, month, 
and year, before me, Fernando de el Bosque, lieutenant alcalde 
mayor, appeared Juan, an Indian of the Bibit nation, and chief 
of it, and said that he was a Christian, having been baptized 
at the Villa of Saltillo, and another Indian, a heathen, who 
said he was chief of the Jume nation. I examined them 
through interpretation of Don Lasaro Augustin, who speaks 
their language and Castilian. And having asked them various 
questions, they said that for a long time they had desired to 
be Christians, and that some of them, having gone to the Villa 
of Saltillo, had succeeded, but that to the rest it had been im- 
possible, because of being distant and unable to take out their 
people, of whom many had died from smallpox without receiv- 
ing the water of baptism ; and that they requested this, and 
desired to settle in pueblos and be under instruction in the 
Christian doctrine; and that they have not gone to do this 
or been able to join with the rest of the people of their nation 
through fear of other barbarian tribes, who kill them. The 
people whom they brought numbered one hundred and five 
persons, large and small, including women and children. 
Present at all this were the father commissary missionary, 
Fray Juan Larios, and Chaplain Fray Dionisio de San Buena- 
bentura, who signed with me and with the witnesses as- 






1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 299 

sisting me, who were Anbrosio de Berlanga and Diego Luis 
Sanches. 

In said post of San Bisente Ferrer, on said day, month and 
year, before me, said Lieutenant, came and appeared six 
adult Indians who said they were heathen of the Pinanaca, 
Xaeser, Tenimama, and Cocoma nations, of the band of Don 
Esteban Gueiquesal. I had them examined through interpre- 
tation of Don Lasaro Augustin, who knows both Castilian and 
their language ; and having asked them what they had come 
for, they said to see me in the name of their chiefs and to ren- 
der obedience to his Majesty, thus ratifying that rendered by 
Don Esteban in their name; and to let it be known that 
they are waiting to be Christians and to live under instruc- 
tion in the Christian doctrine, and to settle in a pueblo ; and 
that all their people and others remain in the Sierra de Matoat. 

In said province on the 15th day of said month and year 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from said 
post of San Vicente Ferrer in company with said fathers com- 
missary missionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, and 
Indians, and having journeyed toward the north, and arrived 
at a river which is distant from the post of San Vicente appar- 
ently about four leagues, and which the Indians said was called 
in their language Ona, which in Spanish means salty, took 
royal possession in the name of his Majesty for said settlement 
and conquest, in witness whereof I had a high wooden cross 
erected, had a legal record made, and named the place San 
Ysidro Labrador. This place has many groves of oak and 
mesquite ; there are many buffalo ; the country has fine pas- 
tures; and there are many fish in the river, which I found 
unoccupied and uninhabited. 

In said province, on said day, month, and year, in said post 
of San Ysidro, before me, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, ap- 
peared the chiefs Xoman, Teroodan, Teaname, and Teimamar, 
with their people. I had them examined through sworn in- 
terpreters who understand their language, Mexican, 1 and Cas- 
tilian, namely Don Lasaro Augustin, governor of the pueblo 
of San Miguel de Luna of the city of Guadalupe of this prov- 
ince, and an Indian named Pasqual. Various questions hav- 
ing been asked of these chiefs, each one separately, they said 

1 Aztec is probably meant here. 



300 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

unanimously and in agreement that they were heathen ; that 
in their lives they [never] * had seen Spaniards ; and had lived 
as heathen without knowledge that there was a God, or who 
He was, and without knowledge of the true way to salvation, 
and in the dark regarding it ; that they wished to be Chris- 
tians and be baptized, with their children and wives, and to 
live as such in a pueblo or pueblos where they might place 
them, so that while they, being old, would not enjoy it, their 
children would enjoy it and be reared as Christians, but that 
they would continue in the same way ; 2 and that at once they 
were rendering and did render obedience to his Majesty the 
King our lord Don Carlos the Second ; and that they would 
be friends of the Spaniards. Thereupon they shouted "Viva, 
viva, viva, 3 the King our lord !" 

Seeing this, and that they appeared to be eager and to 
give signs of sincerity, I received them in the King's name under 
the royal protection, and assured them in the name of his 
Majesty that peace should not be withheld from them, but 
that what had been promised on his part would be fulfilled. 
And I ordered them to live quiet and peaceful and to come to 
be taught the Christian doctrine in the place most convenient 
for that purpose, both because of the remoteness of their 
dwelling places, and because of some dissensions which the 
nations of Indians, as barbarous natives of this country, have 
with one another, and as a result of which they kill each other ; 
and because they have nothing with which to sustain so many 
people, until his Majesty provides what may please him, in 
order to settle them in the most convenient place. 

This being understood by the chiefs, they replied through 
the interpreters that they would comply. And at once their 
people approached, and both men and women devotedly kissed 
the sleeves of the habits of the fathers, the commissary mis- 
sionary, Fray Juan Larios, and chaplain Fray Dionisio de San 
Buenabentura ; and they asked permission to give them as 
alms something of what they possessed, as a mark of gratitude 
to God for having opened to them the way to the truth. And 

1 Both my transcript from the original and the Portillo version omit the 
negative, but I feel confident from the sense that it is intended. 

2 That is, the old people would remain heathen. 

3 "Long live the King our lord." 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 301 

at once they began throwing things upon the ground, some a 
piece of tallow, others hides or skins of animals, of the kind 
with which they clothe themselves or cover themselves, and in 
which they sleep. To all of this I certify. 

In said post and river of San Ysidro of said province, its 
settlement and conquest, on the 16th day of said month and 
year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, certify that this day 
there was erected in said post a portable altar, and that it was 
prepared to say mass ; and at a signal made with a small bell 
the people came to hear it. It was chanted by the father com- 
missary missionary, Fray Juan Larios, and was attended by 
all the people. After it was concluded they asked the said 
father to baptize them ; and when they were given to under- 
stand by him through an interpreter that he could not bap- 
tize them until they knew their prayers, to console them he 
baptized fifty-five infants, the Spaniards acting as their god- 
fathers. They were instructed in the doctrine and counted, 
and the people of the four chiefs named in the preceding auto 
were found to comprise four hundred and twenty-five warriors 1 
and seven hundred and forty-seven women, boys, and girls, of 
all ages, making in all eleven hundred and seventy-two persons. 

In said post of San Ysidro, on said day, month, and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, put the father commissary, 
Fray Juan Larios, in possession of his office and of the admin- 
istration in said post, in virtue of a royal provision and of 
licenses, as is stated and appears in them, and to which I 
refer. Of this legal record was made in his despatches, fol- 
lowing the rest of the ecclesiastical despatches regarding this 
settlement. 

On said day, month, and year, in said post, before me, said 
lieutenant alcalde mayor, a heathen Indian of the Gueiquesal 
nation, made a demonstration and brought to my presence a 
Spanish boy apparently about twelve years of age, with a 
black streak on his face running from the forehead to the nose, 
and two on the cheeks, one on each, like o's, and many rows 
of them on the left arm and one on the right. And having 
examined said Indian, through the interpretation of Don 
Lasaro Agustin, versed in their language and in Castilian, and 
through an Indian named Pasqual, likewise versed in it, and 

1 De arco y flecha, i. e., carrying, or capable of carrying bow and arrow. 



302 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

asking him where he had got him, he replied that his mother 
had raised him, he having been given by her to the Cavesas 
many years ago ; that they had told him that they had brought 
him with others from Yndee, near Parral ; and that although 
they loved him like a brother, and were keeping him in this 
place, they would give him to me as a sign of friendship for 
the Spaniards, and that he might be sent to his relatives. 
The boy was not examined for the present to learn what other 
Spaniards they have, because he cannot speak the Castilian 
language. The Indian was asked if there were other Spanish 
boys among the Indians. He replied that all he knew was that 
at the time when they brought the boy the Cavezas brought 
another boy and a Spanish girl; that they killed the boy with 
arrows, having made him stand up for the purpose; that 
when the boy saw this he took a cross in his hands and began 
to say his prayers, and was praying till he died ; that the 
Spanish girl they brought with them likewise, as a servant, 
and because during an expedition which the Cabesas made to 
rob and kill, they killed one of their companions, they 1 cap- 
tured and shot her with arrows until she died, leaving her 
lying where she fell ; that two years later they passed by there 
and found her just as they had left her, the body being unde- 
cayed and the animals not having eaten it. 2 In view of this 
they took it and carried it to a cave, where it now is ; and that 
it has long hair ; that he knows no more, and that this is the 
truth. 

In said province, on the 18th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from the post 
of San Ysidro in company with the fathers commissary mis- 
sionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor, and Indians, 
and having travelled about eight leagues northward, and hav- 
ing arrived at a post and small river which they said was called 
Dacate, and finding it unoccupied and uninhabited, took royal 
possession of it in the name of his Majesty, and named it 
San Bernardino, in testimony of which I made a legal record 
and ordered a high wooden cross erected. This day there came 
before me Chief Geniocane, a heathen Indian, who said that 

1 It is not clear from the syntax who did the killing. 

2 Stories of miraculous happenings of this particular sort were common in 
New Spain. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 303 

he was awaiting the religious with his people at another place 
farther on, that they might give them Christian instruction 
and catechise them in it; that the reason why he and his 
people had not come out was the multitude of enemies on the 
way who would not let them pass to seek aid ; and that over 
this matter they were killing each other. In view of this and 
of their petition to the religious, it was decided to give them 
the consolation of the spiritual nourishment of Christian 
instruction. 

In said province, on the 20th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from the post 
of San Bernardino in company with said fathers commissary 
missionary and chaplain, the Spaniards, governor and Indians, 
and having travelled about eight leagues northward, the In- 
dians of the Geniocane nation having come out to meet us 
and the rest of the Indians on the way, I arrived at the ran- 
cheria, or camp, at an arroyo between some hills where there 
are many grapevines like wild grape stocks, many being like 
vineyards, the green fruit being large like that of Castile. In 
this place I took royal possession in the name of his Majesty, 
in testimony whereof and for said settlement and conquest I 
made a legal record and ordered a high wooden cross erected, 
Christian instruction being given the Indians by Father Fray 
Dionisio de San Buenabentura. 

In the said province and in the place named above, which 
I called San Jorje, on the 21st day of said month and year, I, 
said lieutenant alcalde mayor, certify that this day the father 
commissary missionary ordered an altar erected, and at it 
Father Fray Dionisio de San Buenabentura said mass. It was 
attended by the Geniocane Indians and the rest, and after it 
was concluded they were taught the doctrine by the father 
commissary missionary. They were counted and there were 
found sixty-five adult Indians and one hundred and thirteen 
Indian women, boys, and girls, making a total of one hundred 
and seventy-eight persons of this nation of Geniocanes. They 
told the father commissary missionary that they wished to be 
Christians, and he consoled them by saying that they should 
learn to pray and he would baptize them. This day the 
father commissary missionary took official possession, of which 
I made a legal record in the original autos of his despatches. 



304 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

In said post of San Jorje, on the 23d day of said month 
and year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having seen that 
there are many nations of Indians who are asking to be Chris- 
tians and who wish to settle in pueblos, since their chiefs come 
to me every day to ask it ; and being so far from the city of 
Guadalupe ; and because some are hostile to others ; and be- 
cause all ask instruction in the Christian doctrine at the same 
time ; and because when they come together over their bar- 
barous discords they kill each other like barbarians ; and since 
the country thus far seen is divided into three tiers of settle- 
ments, according to the custom of such people, the one extend- 
ing from the city of Guadalupe northward on the left hand 
obeying and following Don Esteban Gueiquesal, the one in 
the middle being devoted to Juan de la Cms, chief of the 
Bobole nation, and the one on the right hand including the 
Catujanos, Tilijaes, Apes, Pachaques, and their chiefs, all 
being very numerous ; and to obviate dissensions among these 
natives, since all desire religious and Spaniards; and there 
being only hostility among them in the district seen ; and not 
having force to prevent their plans, I decided to return to the 
city of Guadalupe to report to the alcalde mayor, counting if 
possible on the way back the people of said Don Esteban 
which are lacking, in order that in view of the report he may 
provide what is best for the service of both Majesties. And 
I ordered said nation of Jeniocanes to await in the place which 
would be the most convenient to them for their conversion 
and quietude. 

In said province, on the 25th day of the said month and 
year, I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from the 
post of San Jorje in company with the father commissary 
missionary, the chaplain, Spaniards, governor, and Indians, 
and having travelled about fourteen leagues northward, ar- 
rived at a small arroyo with heavy timber, between some 
knolls and high hills like nipples, where I took possession in 
the name of his Majesty for said settlement and conquest, 
naming the place San Pablo Ermitano. 1 In witness thereof 
I made a legal record, and ordered a high wooden cross erected, 
instruction being given to the people by Father Fray Dionissio 
de San Buenabentura. And I ordered the nations of Indians 
of the four chiefs mentioned in the record 2 of the post of San 

1 Saint Paul the Hermit. 2 Auto. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 305 

Ysidro, of the faction of Don Esteban and his following, to 
remain quiet in their country and live good lives, without kill- 
ing each other, and to join with the other followers of their 
great chief. On hearing this they said they could comply, 
and remained awaiting a religious who should go to instruct 
them until they should settle in a pueblo. 

In said province, on the 29th of said month and year, I, 
said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having set out from the post 
of San Pablo Ermitano to return to the city of Guadalupe in 
company with the governor and Indians, arrived at another 
place on the River of San Buenabentura del Norte, 1 where I 
found part of the Bobole Indians with their women and chil- 
dren. They were killing buffalo for food, and it was some 
time since they had gone out to their pueblo and settlement. 2 
I ordered them to go to it, which in fact they did, joining their 
chief and the rest of their nation. They were taught the doc- 
trine by said father commissary missionary, and I made a 
legal record of it, which I signed with said fathers and wit- 
nesses. 

In said province, on the 1st day of June of said year, I, 
said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having already set out from the 
San Buenabentura River, in company with said fathers com- 
missary and chaplain, Spaniards, and Indians, and having trav- 
elled about twenty leagues to the west, arrived at a river 
which they said was called the Nueses, 3 where I found chiefs 
Bacora and Pinanaca, at some springs formed at a river with 
many walnuts and other kinds of trees. Here I took royal 
possession in the name of his Majesty for said settlement and 
conquest. As evidence of it I made a legal record and ordered 
a high wooden cross erected, the doctrine being taught to the 
people by the father commissary missionary, who ordered an 
altar erected in a bower, and that Father Fray Dionisio de 
San Buenabentura should say mass. This concluded, at the 
sound of a little bell the people again said the creed. The 
people of Captain Bacora were counted and were found to 

1 Evidently higher up than the place where it was crossed before. It is 
clear that Bosque's march beyond the Rio Grande was northward instead of 
eastward. 

2 That is, Pueblo de Luna. 

3 This was evidently a stream flowing eastward into the Rio Grande. The 
stream now called San Diego on some maps fits the conditions fairly well ; if it 
was higher up, La Zorra might answer. 



306 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

comprise one hundred and fifty persons, sixty-two warriors 
and eighty-eight women and children. In this post posses- 
sion was given him 1 of that which concerns his administra- 
tion, and I made a legal record of it in the original autos of 
ecclesiastical possessions. 

In said province, on the 5th day of said month and year, I, 
said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having already set out from the 
River of Santa Clara de las Nueses in company of said fathers 
missionary commissary and chaplain, Spaniards and Indians, 
and having journeyed about fourteen leagues to the south 
and toward the city of Guadalupe, arrived at a river where I 
found the Gueiquesal and Manosprietas people. I took royal 
possession in the name of his Majesty and named the place 
San Diego, 2 and mass was said by the father commissary. 
The people were counted and found to comprise three hundred 
and eighty-seven persons, one hundred and three warriors and 
two hundred and eighty-four women, boys and girls. They 
said that of the rest of the men some were killing buffalo and 
others were with their chief, Don Esteban, in the city of Guada- 
lupe. This day ecclesiastical possession was given to the 
father commissary missionary, of which a legal record was 
made in the ecclesiastical autos. 

In this province, on the 10th day of said month and year, 
I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, having previously set out for 
the river and post of San Diego in company with said fathers 
commissary missionary and chaplain, and the Spaniards and 
Indians, and having travelled about twenty-two leagues, pass- 
ing through the valley of the River of San Antonio de Sabinas, 
and entering an opening in some large mountains called 
Obayas, 3 I arrived at an arroyo with water. Finding it un- 
occupied and uninhabited, I took royal possession in name of 
his Majesty for said settlement and conquest, and named it 
San Anbrossio, in witness whereof I made a legal record and 

1 The comisario misionero. 

2 This seems to be further south than the stream now called San Diego, 
entering the Rio Grande about twenty-five miles above Eagle Pass. The stream 
may have been the San Fernando, which enters the Rio Grande at Piedras Negras. 

3 Bosque seems to have followed the route of the International Railroad 
here. The stream was evidently the Rio Aura. It is just possible that he had 
been west of the Santa Rosa Mountains and followed the pass made by the Rio 
Aura. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 307 

ordered a high wooden cross erected. Mass was said by the 
father commissary missionary, and was attended by Don Ber- 
nabe, chief of the Contotore nation, with his people. Mass 
ended, they were instructed by the said father commissary. 
This nation was counted and there were found sixty-eight 
warriors and one hundred and thirty women and children. 

In said province, on the 12th day of June, 1675, 1, said lieu- 
tenant alcalde mayor, having previously set out from the 
post of San Anbrossio, and having travelled apparently about 
fourteen leagues toward the city of Guadalupe and opposite it, 
at the foot of a large mountain and toward the west of it, in 
company with the fathers commissary and chaplain, and with 
said Spaniards, arrived at a watering place which I found un- 
occupied and uninhabited ; taking royal possession in the name 
of his Majesty for said settlement and conquest, in testimony 
whereof I made a legal record, I ordered a large wooden cross 
erected and named the place San Bartolome. At this place 
there came to me Chief Don Salbador, of the Babosarigame 
nation, with some of his people, saying that he had sent for 
the rest, who, for lack of food, were scattered about. He and 
the people whom he brought were instructed in the doctrine 
by the father commissary missionary. This ended, they were 
counted and found to comprise forty-two warriors and sixty- 
six women and children, including the Tetecores. I ordered 
him to assemble the rest and to keep them in sight of chief 
Don Bernabe and of Don Esteban. 

In said province of Nueba Estremadura, on said day, 
month, and year I, said lieutenant alcalde mayor, make known 
to Captain Don Antonio de Balcarcel Riba de Neira Sotomaior, 
alcalde mayor of this province, its settlements and conquest 
for his Majesty, that, having gone at his orders to reconnoitre 
the nations of Indians of the following of Don Esteban Guei- 
quesale, who live toward the Sierra Dacate and in its vicinity, 
and the others of their district and neighborhood, they mani- 
fested before his Majesty, through me and their messengers, 
that they wish to settle in pueblos and be Christians, with 
religious to catechise and instruct them. And having passed 
through the length and breadth of the country which appears 
in the records, and having seen it and its inhabitants, I have 
learned that they are divided into three followings or bands, 



308 TEXAS: BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION [1675 

each very numerous, since the least numerous, although wild 
and the most bellicose, is that of the following of Don Esteban 
Gueiquesal, which are the nations counted, excepting the Yo- 
ricas, Jumees, Vivit, and Jeniocanes, who belong with the Bo- 
boles, Catujanos, and Tilijaes, of the districts already stated ; 
and of the great discord between them, from which they kill 
and eat each other and capture each other's children, for they 
say this, being now actually at war with each other, the band 
of Don Esteban with that of the Jeniocanes and their allies, 
and the Yoricas, Jumees, and Vivit with the Arames, Ocanes, 
and those of their following, and the Boboles with the Yurbi- 
pames. These tiers of people are very numerous and their 
limits or that of one with another is not known, for neither on 
the north nor on the east is there any report of their terminus. 
For this reason these Indians begged me to go to see their 
rancherias and those of their allies ; and they have said that 
they wished to be Christians, and that all wish it, and to settle 
in pueblos, and to ask for religious ; and they wish that aid be 
given to each one separately and not together, for it happens 
that for very slight causes they kill each other, and conditions 
become bad. I decided, therefore, to return from said post 
of San Jorge, counting on the way the people of Don Esteban 
who might be on the road, to inform said alcalde mayor, which 
I now do, both of this as well as that unless for these three 
bands or followings of people three head settlements 1 be made, 
in which each shall be regarded as independent of the other — 
one in the valley of San Antonio and Sabinas River, which 
will accommodate many settlements, and another at Los Balu- 
artes and San Francisco River, which is of the same sort, and 
the one which is already made at the city of Guadalupe — it 
will not be possible to maintain these nations under instruc- 
tion in the Christian doctrine. For they are people, one ex- 
tremely barbarous, and the others barbarous, who have shown 
bad conduct toward the Spaniards and other vassals of his 
Majesty in La Viscaia, the Kingdom of Leon, and in part of 
La Galicia, robbing and killing for more than twenty years. 

Even less will it be possible for any officer of his Majesty to 
keep them in order and under instruction unless he has forces 
for it, although he may have to use much love and blandish- 

1 Cabeseras. 



1675] DIARY OF BOSQUE 309 

ment when having to correct them, for since they are vicious 
people and not habituated to labor to sustain themselves, they 
will return to their natural habits, and greater damages will 
result. And there will not be Spaniards who wish to settle 
in the country, for it is known that those who entered it have 
left with misgivings or fears which some have been spreading 
abroad. 

The most important post found in which to establish forces 
is Santa Cms, since it is fourteen leagues from the valley of 
San Antonio, a little less from Los Baluartes, and twenty from 
the city of Guadalupe, 1 and in the heart and centre of the 
country. These forces will not be sufficient if less than seventy 
men, since it is very remote from settlements and aid, for that 
of the Villa of Saltillo is more than sixty-eight leagues away, 
and the Kingdom of Leon the same, these being the nearest. 
Likewise, ministers of the gospel are necessary, since these na- 
tions ask for them ; and they do not wish to have those of one 
nation attend the others, because they are of different languages, 
the people numerous, and their homes far apart. There are 
necessary for the present at least four religious for each group, 
if his Majesty, God preserve him, is pleased to have it settled 
and given seed grain, oxen, and some families of Tlaxcalteco 
Indians. 2 

This report I make to said alcalde mayor on the basis of 
what I have seen and observed, and of my experience of more 
than twenty years with barbarian natives and others. And 
in order that it may be on record I set it down as an auto, which 
I signed with the witnesses assisting me, who were Diego Luis 
Sanches and Anbrosio de Verlanga. 

Fernando de el Bosque (rubric). 

Witness, Ambrosio Berlanga (rubric). 

Witness, Diego Luis Sanches (rubric). 

1 This statement gives an important clue to the relation of the going and 
return routes to each other. 

2 The Indians from Tlascala played an important part in the founding of 
frontier settlements, they being used as teachers of the new converts. About 
1590 a colony of them was established at Saltillo, with the name of San Esteban. 
In subsequent times this colony was freely drawn upon in the establishment of 
new Indian pueblos on the northern frontier. 



TEXAS 

2. THE MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION TO 
THE JUMANOS, 1683-1684 



INTRODUCTION 

Long before the Bosque-Larios expedition had crossed the 
lower Rio Grande, Spaniards from New Mexico had frequently- 
made their way into western Texas. Interest in Gran Quivira 
and the Aijados, and in the country beyond — an interest which 
had inspired the long northeastward expedition of Onate — 
continued to attract the frontier explorers and missionaries. 
Writing of these " kingdoms " in 1630, Father Benavides, who 
had just ceased to be custodian of the missions of New Mexico, 
described them as rich in gold, and in danger of being possessed 
by the English and the Flemings. As a means of securing, 
subduing, and converting them, and at the same time of estab- 
lishing a shorter route from Havana to New Mexico, he pro- 
posed opening a port at the so-called Bay of Espiritu Santo, 
at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Four years later, it is 
said by Father Posadas, Alonso de Vaca led an expedition 
three hundred leagues eastward from New Mexico to a great 
river across which was Quivira. What his route and its ter- 
minus were is unknown. 

Another interest, more tangible and immediate, led the 
New Mexicans frequently southeastward in the early seven- 
teenth century into what is now western central Texas. This 
interest was the Jumano Indians. In 1629 Father Salas, ac- 
companied by soldiers, went more than a hundred leagues east- 
ward and worked for a time among this nation. In 1632 he 
made another expedition to the tribe, whom he found two 
hundred leagues southeast of Santa Fe, on a stream called the 
Nueces River. It was clearly a branch of the upper Colorado. 

313 



314 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION 

No other expedition to the Jumanos is recorded till 1650, 
when one was made by Captains Hernando Martin and Diego 
del Castillo, with a party of soldiers. While there they found 
pearls in the Nueces River. Before returning some of the 
party went fifty leagues beyond the Jumanos and reached the 
borders of the territory of a people called "Tejas," who were 
ruled by a king. These two new objects of interest — pearls 
and the kingdom of the Tejas — now became motives to further 
journeys to the east. Hearing of the pearls, the viceroy at 
once ordered another expedition, and in 1654 Diego de Guada- 
lajara went with thirty soldiers to the same place. Passing 
beyond the Jumanos thirty leagues, they engaged in a battle 
with the Cuitaos, taking two hundred prisoners, and rich spoils 
in the way of peltry. No other specific expedition to the 
Jumanos is recorded till that of Juan Dominguez de Mendoza 
in 1683-1684. But in the interim, we are told, trade and friend- 
ship had been maintained with these Indians "with such se- 
curity that the Spaniards, six, eight, and ten, went to their 
lands and villages every year to trade with these Indians." 

Meanwhile there had occurred in New Mexico the great up- 
rising of the Pueblo Indians in 1680, during which a part of 
the settlers were massacred, the rest fleeing from the upper 
Rio Grande and taking refuge at El Paso, where a settlement 
had existed since 1659. This catastrophe cut off communica- 
tion with the Jumanos for a time, but relations were soon re- 
established through the initiative of the Indians. In 1683 two 
delegations from the tribe visited Governor Otermin at El 
Paso, asking for aid against the Apaches, and that the Span- 
iards might return to trade with them. As Otermin's term 
had expired, they were referred to his successor, Domingo 
Gironza Petris de Cruzate. 

Accordingly, on October 15 of the same year, a delegation 
of seven Indians, Jumanos and others, appeared before Gov- 
ernor Cruzate to repeat the request. The leader of the em- 



INTRODUCTION 315 

bassy was Juan Sabeata, a Jumano, who had been baptized 
at Parral and now lived at La Junta, as the Spaniards called 
the region about the junction of the Conchos with the Rio 
Grande. A part of his own tribe lived to the eastward of La 
Junta on the buffalo plains and near the Nueces River. They 
were clearly the Jumano whom the Spaniards had so often vis- 
ited in former times. Sabeata had been at El Paso with one 
of the former delegations. He now returned as representative 
of the chiefs of his neighborhood, as well as of tribes to the east, 
including the Texas, to ask for missionaries and for help against 
the Apaches. Among thirty-odd tribes of which he spoke, he 
told particularly of the "great kingdom of the Texas," a pop- 
ulous realm situated some fifteen or twenty days eastward of 
La Junta, and ruled by a powerful king. As for the chief who 
had visited Diego del Castillo, who had been to the east many 
years before, he was not the king of the Texas, but merely the 
king's lieutenant. The Texas were a settled people, he said, 
and raised grain in such abundance that they even fed it to 
their horses. They were neighbors of Gran Quivira, so close, 
indeed, that the two peoples visited back and forth almost 
daily. 1 

Governor Cruzate forwarded to the viceroy Sabeata's dec- 
laration, saying that he would consider it a great triumph if, 
in the present viceroy's day, "another New World" should be 
discovered, and "two realms with two crowns" should be 
added to the king's dominions. Equally interested was Fray 

1 For a sketch of the Spanish approach to western Texas see Bolton, "The 
Spanish Occupation of Texas, 1519-1690," in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 
XVI. 4-11. See also Benavides, "Memorial," translation in Land of Sunshine, 
XIV. 139-140; Fr. Alonzo Posadas, "Informe a S. M. sobre las tierras de Nuevo 
Mejico, Quivira y Teguayo," in Fernandez Duro, Penalosa, pp. 53-67; Fr. 
Amando Niel, "Apuntamientos," in Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera serie (Mexico, 1856), 
pp. 91-93 ; Bolton, "The Jumano Indians in Texas/' in the Texas State Hist. 
Assoc. Quarterly, XV. 68-74; Anne Hughes, "The Beginnings of Spanish Settle- 
ment in the El Paso District," in University of California Publications in History, 
I. 295-301. 



316 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION 

Nicolas Lopez, custodian of the missions, who at once set 
about responding to the appeal by founding missions at La 
Junta. After some preliminaries he set out for that place on 
December 1, accompanied by Fray Juan Zavaleta and Fray 
Antonio Acevedo. Arriving at their destination at the end 
of thirteen days, they found things favorable, and soon seven 
or more tribes about La Junta had built churches and dwellings 
for the missionaries. 

Meanwhile Governor Cruzate, without awaiting orders 
from the viceroy, prepared an expedition "for the new dis- 
covery of the Jumanas and all other nations who hold friend- 
ship with them." As leader he appointed Captain Juan 
Dominguez de Mendoza, who had gone with Guadalajara to 
the Jumanos thirty years before. At La Junta he was to be 
joined by Father Lopez. He was instructed to examine care- 
fully the Nueces River, bring back samples of pearls and other 
products, and learn everything possible about the Indians. 
He was especially required to impress the natives with the re- 
spect shown the missionaries. The venture had a commercial 
phase, and the instructions provided for the regulation of 
trade with the Indians. 

On December 15 Mendoza set out, opening his diary at 
Real de San Lorenzo, a few leagues below El Paso, on the south 
bank of the Rio Grande. He kept close to that stream all 
the way to La Junta, passing on the way numerous rancherias 
of Suma Indians. Leaving Father Acevedo in charge at La 
Junta, Fathers Lopez and Zavaleta joined the expedition to 
the plains. From the starting point the route was northward 
to the Salado (Pecos), which was reached after seventy leagues 
of travel. Following down the river nine leagues, they crossed 
to a village of Jediondos, apparently near Horsehead Crossing. 

Leaving the Pecos, Mendoza now struck out eastward, 
across an unwatered plain, and at the end of forty leagues 
reached a river which flowed east and was remarkable for 



INTRODUCTION 317 

nuts and clam shells (conchas). It was evidently the Middle 
Concho. Following it eastward for twenty-one (or twenty- 
four) leagues, he reached its junction with the Nueces River, 
the stream which he had come to explore and on which he 
had been with Guadalajara. He must have been where San 
Angelo now is. Nineteen leagues further eastward he reached 
the end of his journey at the San Clemente River, an east- 
flowing stream, apparently the Colorado near its junction 
with the main Concho. 

At the San Clemente Mendoza's party remained six weeks, 
killed over four thousand head of buffalo, and received mes- 
sengers from numerous eastern tribes. Mendoza built a com- 
bined stronghold and chapel, where numerous Indians were 
baptized, and before leaving the commander and the mission- 
aries promised to come again within a year. 

On his return to La Junta, Mendoza took possession of the 
north bank of the Rio Grande as a part of New Mexico and 
delivered rods of justice to four native chiefs. Leaving Fathers 
Acevedo and Zavaleta to continue missionary work, Mendoza 
and Lopez returned to El Paso, going by way of the Conchos 
and the Sacramento, because the Sumas were in revolt and the 
Rio Grande high. 

The expedition of 1684 now became the basis of an attempt 
to occupy the Jumano country with missionaries and soldiers. 
On their return to El Paso both Father Lopez and Mendoza 
went to the city of Mexico, where they prepared memorials, 
in 1685 and 1686, urging such a step, and it is not at all im- 
probable that if danger from the French on the Gulf coast had 
not just then arisen, the recommendations would have been 
put into effect. 

The principal sources of information regarding the Men- 
doza-Lopez expedition hitherto printed are: "Memorial de 
Fr. Nicolas Lopez acerca de la repoblacion de Nuevo Mejico 
y ventajas que ofrece el reino de Quivira," and "Memorial del 



318 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION 

Maestre de Campo Juan Dominguez de Mendoza, informando 
acerca de las Naciones de Oriente." These documents are 
printed in Cesareo Fernandez Duro, Don Diego de Penalosa 
y su Descubrimiento del Reino de Quivira (Madrid, 1882), pp. 
67-74, 74-77. The Lopez memorial was used by Barcia, in 
his Ensayo Cronologico, p. 266. A brief contemporary account 
is contained in Fray Alonso de Posadas's "Informe a S. M. 
sobre las tierras de Nuevo Mejico, Quivira y Teguayo." This 
also is printed in Fernandez Duro's Penalosa, pp. 53-67. 

Of much greater importance is the expediente of unpub- 
lished manuscripts entitled "Viage Que a solicitud de los 
Naturales de la Prov a de Texas, y otras Naciones circun- 
vecinas, y de orden del Governador del Nuevo Mexico D. 
Domingo Gironza Petris de Cruzati, Hizo el Maestre de 
Campo Juan Dominguez de Mendoza, en fines del ano de 1683, 
y principios de 1684, Copiado Del Original que existe en el 
oficio mas antiguo del Virreynato de Nueva Espana, en los 
Autos sobre la sublevacion del Nuevo Mexico, Quaderno 1°," 
Archivo General y Publico, Mexico, Seccion de Historia, vol. 
298. 

This lengthy expediente contains, besides the Itinerario here- 
inafter printed, reports of governor Cruzate to the viceroy; 
the declaration of Juan Sabeata, made at El Paso, October 
20, 1683; certificaciones made by Mendoza at La Junta on the 
way back from the Jumanos; reports sent by the mission- 
aries at El Paso to Mexico by Father Lopez ; representaciones 
made by Father Lopez in Mexico in 1685 and 1686 ; and pro- 
ceedings of the central government. As is indicated above, 
the expediente is a compilation from the autos of the Pueblo 
Revolt, and most of the originals of the documents copied in 
the expediente are still preserved in the archives of Mexico. 
This is true of the Itinerario, which is here translated from the 
original in expediente no. 4 of a manuscript volume entitled 
"Alsamiento Gral. de los Indios de Nuevo Mexico en 1680," 



INTRODUCTION 



319 



which constitutes vol. 37 of the Archivo General y Publico, 
Seccion de Provincias Internas. There are few essential 
differences between the two versions. In the copy dates and 
distances have been added. An official copy of Mendoza's 
instructions is in the Bancroft Library. 












ITINERARY OF JUAN DOMINGUEZ DE 
MENDOZA, 1684 1 

Maestre de Campo Juan Dominguez de Mendoza, com- 
mander and chief of this detachment of soldiers which is 
going to the discovery of the East and the kingdom of the 
Texas at the petition of Don Juan Sebeata, an Indian of the 
Jumana nation, who, with the other chiefs of that nation, 
went to petition before the Sefior Captain Don Domingo 
Jironsa Petris de Cruzate, governor and captain-general of 
these provinces of New Mexico, and before the most Rever- 
end Father Fray Nicolas Lopes, procurator, custodian, and 
ordinary ecclesiastical judge 2 of the said provinces, in order 
that they might be protected from both directions, by both 
the spiritual and temporal care. At this petition the said 
governor and captain-general, supporting what was for the 
best service of both Majesties, considered it well to issue to 
me an order for the execution of the aforesaid journey ; and 
in order that it may be in the form which is required and 
which the case demands, and in conformity with the afore- 
said order and instruction, I have considered it well that all 
should appear in this itinerary, as follows : 

We set out from the Real de San Lorenzo, 3 which is ap- 
parently about twelve leagues distant from the mission 4 of 
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe of the Mansos and Passo del 
Rio del Norte. From the aforesaid Real de San Lorenzo to 
this place in which we now are, it is about five leagues, this 
place being an adobe house where Maestre de Campo Thome 

^'Alsamiento Gral. de los Indios de Nuevo Mexico en 1680" (manuscript 
in the Archive- General y Publico, Mexico, Provincias Internas, vol. 37). 

2 Juez ordinario eclesidstico. 

3 The principal Spanish settlement established by the refugees at El Paso 
after the retreat of 1680. See Hughes, The Beginnings of Spanish Settlements in 
the El Paso District, pp. 315-333. 

4 Conversion. 

320 



1683] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 321 

Domingues de Mendosa 1 lived. It was given the name San 
Bartolome. It has a very good watering place ; its plain is 
supplied with very good pasturage and an abundance of 
wood. A holy cross was erected. In order that it may be 
better attested, I signed it with my name, with my assisting 
witnesses, who here signed it in my presence, as captain, com- 
mander and chief. Done on the 15th day of the month of 
December, 1683. Juan Domingues de Mendosa. Diego 
Lucero de Godoi. Baltasar Dominguez de Mendosa. 
Hernando Martin Serano. 

On the 16th day of the said month and year we arrived 
at this place, which was given the name of Santisima Treni- 
dad, and which is distant from the aforesaid house about 
seven leagues. It is on the top of a hill where there was a 
rancheria of Indians of the Suma nation. A holy cross was 
erected facing toward the north. Opposite it is a thick- 
trunked cottonwood, 2 where the Rio del Norte passes. Below 
this cottonwood is found the watering place for the horse herd, 
there being no other, because the river has such high and 
steep banks. I crossed it with difficulty 3 on the said day, 
month, and year. 4 

In this place, which was given the name Nuestra Senora 
del Pilar de Saragosa, and which is distant from that of La 
Santissima Trenidad about eight leagues. On the 17th day 
of the said month and year we arrived at this place where 
we found a populous rancheria, besides others which we passed, 
all of the Suma nation, poor people who live chiefly on mescal, 
which is baked palms. 5 All these rancherias asked of me 
aid and help against the common enemy, the Hap aches na- 
tion, alleging generally that most of them were already dis- 
posed to becoming Christians. In fact a considerable por- 
tion of them were already reducing themselves to settlements 

1 Father of Juan Dominguez de Mendoza. He had left New Mexico with 
the other refugees, settled here, and subsequently moved farther toward the 
interior, as had numerous other New Mexicans. 

2 Alamo, literally poplar, but in the Southwest the term is commonly applied 
to the cottonwood. 

3 Por diligencia. This may mean with legal formalities. 

4 Hereafter, in order to save space, the formalities concerning the signing 
are omitted at the end of each entry except the last. 

5 See Espejo's narrative, p. 170, above, note 5. 



322 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1683 

and alleging that the Apaches did not allow them in their 
lands. Seeing that, in their way, they asked justice, I have 
promised them all help and protection on the return journey. 
On the top of a hill I had a cross erected. 

On the 18th day of the said month and year we arrived 
at the place which was named Nuestra Sefiora de la Limpia 
Consepcion. It has as a landmark a deep arroyo which 
forms a stony beach where it empties into the Rio del Norte. 
This is the watering place. It is distant from Nuestra Senora 
del Pilar about eight leagues. It forms a nook with good 
pasturage and wood. On the top of a hill I had a cross erected. 

On the 19th day of the said month and year we arrived 
at this place which was given the name Nuestra Sefiora de la 
Soledad. It is about three leagues west of the Rio del Norte, 
where there is a mountain from which issues an arroyo of 
good water, in sufficient quantity for any army. This arroyo 
flows toward the Rio del Norte, and has a very good grove of 
cottonwoods. It is distant from Nuestra Sefiora de la Limpia 
Concepcion about eight leagues. It has very good pastures 
and wood. I had a holy cross placed on the top of a hill. 
Between the two places there are three rancherias of the 
Suma nation. 

On the 20th day of the said month and year we arrived 
at this place, which was given the name Nuestra Sefiora del 
Transito, and which is on the Rio del Norte. Its range of 
hills forms a pasture. Its bottom lands are well supplied with 
pasturage and wood. It is distant from Nuestra Senora de 
la Soledad about eight leagues, over country rough in parts. 
Between, there is a hot spring, which forms the said river. 
The land is intractable, and is settled by some rancherias. 
The watering place is good. On the top of a hill I had a holy 
cross placed. 

On the 21st day of the said month and year we arrived 
at this place, which was named Nuestra Sefiora del Buen 
Suseso. It is distant from Nuestra Senora del Transito about 
four leagues. It has very good land, pasturage, and wood, 
which is near by in the canyon formed by the Rio del Norte, 
where the trail leaves it and turns toward the west, and then 
immediately turns to the east. It is necessary to stop here 
because on the next day's march there occurs rough land 



1683] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 323 

overgrown with mesquite and cat's-claw, although it is pass- 
able ; and soon afterwards there occurs a high steep hill, and 
toward the east it is precipitous 1 and well overgrown with 
lechuguilla, 2 almost to the Rio del Norte, so that it was not 
possible to travel by night. It is here described with full 
specifications. I ordered a cross placed on the top of a hill. 
In this district were three inhabited rancherias of Sumas. 

On the 22d day of the said month and year we arrived at 
this place, which was named Nuestra Senora del Rosario. 
It is distant from Nuestra Senora del Buen Suceso about 
eight leagues. It is like the rough land already described 
above. We arrived at Rio del Norte, where we found some 
rancherias of the same Sumas nation. It has very good 
meadows, pastures, wood, and a watering place. I caused a 
holy cross to be placed on the top of a hill. 

On the 23d day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was named Nuestra Senora de Regla, 
and which is distant from Nuestra Senora del Rosario about 
eight leagues. It has as a landmark a beautiful meadow. 
The hill is very near to the mountain. Toward the north 
is a grove of cottonwoods; then comes the river; it forms 
a long valley on the other bank. Then follows the Rio del 
Norte. The watering place is good. For further identifica- 
tion I ordered a holy cross placed on the top of this hill, which 
looks to the north. 

On the 24th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was named Nuestra Senora de Belen 3 
because of a narrow pass which is found on the top of a steep 
mountain, which is about a half-league from the said place. 
This pass is something like a window. The place has for 
marks the chain of hills and a grove in the form of an 0. 
The watering place is good. It has in the middle a piece of 
meadow sufficient for the river. It is distant from the last 
place eight leagues. I ordered a holy cross placed on the top 
of a hill which faces north. 

On the 25th of the said month and year we set out from 

1 Ocinada, cf. hocino. 

2 The maguey plant. See Espejo's narrative, p. 170. Literally, small 
lettuce. 

3 Our Lady of Bethlehem. It was Christmas Eve. 



324 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1683 

this place, which was named Nuestra Sefiora del Populo. 
It has for marks a large rock separated from the mountain, 
with buttresses on the sides, and the length to the north ; in 
appearance it resembles a church. It is on the other side of 
the Rio del Norte ; and on this side where we are, which is 
on the New Mexico side, 1 is the part which faces the south. 
Behind it there is a plentiful grove of cottonwoods and other 
trees. Toward the south the same river forks, and between 
the branches is a meadow supplied with pasturage. Here, 
on the top of a hill, I had a holy cross placed. From Nuestra 
Seiiora de Belen to this place it is about eight leagues. 

On the 26th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place which was named Nuestra Senora de Atocha. 
It has these marks : it is closed in by a chain of hills ; it is 
elevated, and has on the west the mountain; on the south 
there is a little pass through which the Rio del Norte runs ; 
the chain of hills is thickly covered with cactus, which ap- 
pears to bear good fruit. Most of this river has watering 
places of stone. It is about three leagues distant from Nues- 
tra Senora del Populo, for, because of the accident of having 
lost some horses, it was not possible to go farther. The pas- 
tures are good and the hills have plenty of wood and what- 
ever is necessary. 

On the 27th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was named Nuestra Seiiora de los 
Remedios. It has for marks on the north a high mountain. 
It is at the foot of a hill where the road descends, and before 
reaching the place there is a dry arroyo. The Rio del Norte 
flows toward the east. The meadows are the same on both 
sides of the river; they have an abundance of pastures and 
wood, and there is a good watering place. I ordered a holy 
cross placed on the top of a hill. From the place of Nuestra 
Senora de Atocha it is about seven leagues. 

On the 28th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was named Nuestra Sefiora de Guada- 
lupe. To the foregoing place of Nuestra Senora de los Reme- 
dios it is about seven leagues. It has for marks two moun- 

1 1, e., he regarded the south bank as a part of New Mexico, but not the 
north. See Hughes, The Beginnings of Spanish Settlement in the El Paso District, 
chapter VIII. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 325 

tains. The one which is toward the north must be three 
leagues away, and the one which is in front of the Rio del 
Norte a quarter of a league. On opposite sides of the river 
are two groves of cottonwood, with dense canebrakes. There 
is a good watering place. I ordered a holy cross placed on 
the top of the hill, close to the road. 

On the 29th day of the said month and year, we arrived 
at this place, which was named La Nabidad en las Cruces, 1 
because of the crosses possessed by the rancherias which were 
settled on both sides of the Rio del Norte. These rancherias 
are of people of the Julimes nation ; they are versed in the 
Mexican language, and all sow maize and wheat. Here we 
overtook the reverend fathers preachers, Fray Nicolas Lopes, 
custodian and ordinary judge of the provinces of New Mexico, 
Fray Juan de Sabaleta, commissary of the Holy Office, 2 and 
Fray Antonio de Asebedo. Generally all these Indians asked 
for the water of baptism, and more than one hundred persons 
were baptized. All the meadows of the river are very spacious, 
and have good lands, good climate, and abundant pasturage 
and wood. 3 

In this place, which was named El Apostol Santiago, 4 and 
from which we set out today, New Year's day, January 1, 
1684, and where our very reverend father custodian and or- 
dinary judge, Fray Nicolas Lopes, and Father Fray Juan de 
Sabaleta, commissary of the Holy Office, celebrated mass, I 
had a holy cross placed on the top of a hill. It is about seven 
leagues distant from La Nabedad, which is the settlement 
where Father Fray Antonio de Assevedo remains in charge. 
This district is very stony in parts, although I travelled over 
it. The aforesaid place of Senor Santiago has for marks an 

1 When Sabeata and his companions went to El Paso to ask for missionaries, 
they told a tale of the miraculous appearance of a cross in the sky near La Junta. 
The place where the apparition was said to occur was called by the Spaniards 
La Navidad en las Cruces. Sabeata later confessed that the story was a pure 
fabrication intended to stir the Spaniards to action. 2 Inquisition. 

3 The diary gives the distance from Guadalupe to La Navidad as one hun- 
dred and nine leagues plus the last day's march (for which no distance is given) 
or about one hundred and fifteen leagues. The air-line distance is about one 
hundred and ninety miles, but by the windings of the river it must be two hundred 
and fifty miles. 

'The Apostle Saint James. fa ^ (fy ^^^^ 



326 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

arroyo which flows from north to south. It has very abundant 
pasturage, partly green and partly dry. 1 

On January 2, 1684, we set out from this place, which was 
named Nuestro Padre San Francisco. It has the following 
marks: a spring of hot water which flows toward the south- 
east. Its source is on a height. The water and the pasturage 
are good. The land is level and has little wood. A cross was 
not erected for lack of timber. It is distant from Senor San- 
tiago about seven leagues. 

On the 3d day of the aforesaid month we set out from this 
place, which was named San Nicolas. It is distant from 
Nuestro Padre San Francisco about seven leagues. It has 
the following marks: It is at the extremity of a mesa which 
extends to the north. It is a watering place consisting of a 
beautiful reservoir which is supplied by the rains. The pas- 
sage 2 through the rocks forms two steep crags on the sides; 
on one of them I had a holy cross placed. There are in the 
environs of the reservoir some ash trees and other kinds of 
timber ; and in the cavities made by the rocks adjoining the 
reservoir there is a great quantity of maidenhair fern and most 
beautiful grape-vines. Toward the west is a beautiful plain, 
with plentiful pasturage of couch grass. 3 The direction which 
we were following was toward the north. 

On the 4th day of the month and year we set out from this 
place which was named Nuestro Padre San Antonio. It is 
in the midst of some hills, where there is a reservoir sufficient 
for any herd of horses. It is surrounded by bare, denuded 
rock. 4 Its inlet is an arroyo which runs toward the west. 
It is covered with oaks, and on the heights with cedars. It is 
distant from San Nicolas about seven leagues. Midway there 
are some little pools of brackish water. All the land is level. 
In the neighborhood of the little pools there is a great quan- 
tity of white and yellow mesquites. In the midst of so much 
evil there is a little spring of fresh and kindly water, and, as 

x The party apparently went down the Rio Grande seven leagues before 
turning north. The arroyo flowing south seems to have been the Alamito. 

2 Esladeros. I cannot find this word in any dictionary. Cf. aisladero, or 
ailadero, which is frequently used in the De Leon diaries in the sense of "passage 
way." See p. 410, below, note 3. 

3 Grama. 4 Pena viva. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 327 

an exquisite thing, I had it noted with particular care. On 
the top of some rocks near this little spring I had a holy cross 
placed. 

On the 5th day of the said month and year, we set out 
from this place, which is distant from San Antonio about four 
leagues; in both places mass was celebrated. This district 
consists in parts of rocks and knolls, and in parts of plain 
without rocks. It is at the foot of a hill which is toward the 
east. On the south rises a little arroyo which flows toward 
the north. 1 There is water sufficient for any herd of horses. 
The pastures are good, but there is little wood and that which 
there is at a distance is oak. It was named San Lorenso 
because of the fire which threatened to burn us by night, but 
the damage which might have occurred was prevented by the 
circle 2 which was made round about. The cross was not 
erected because there was no timber of which to make it. 

On the 6th day of the said month and year, the day of Los 
Santos Reyes, 3 we set out from this place, where two masses 
were celebrated. It was named the place of Los Reyes. It 
is on the left hand, as we come from San Lorenso, turning aside 
from the path about a half league for a valley apart with good 
pasturage and with mountains on both sides. In the valley 
is a dry arroyo with some pecans ; 4 continuing up stream one 
finds good water; it is toward the north; it is distant from 
San Lorenso about five leagues. I had a holy cross erected. 

On the 7th day of the said month and year we remained 
in this place, which was named San Pedro de Alcantara. It 
is distant from the place of Los Reyes about six leagues. This 
detention was at the general request of the Indians of the 
Jumana nation and the others who came with them, who were 
constrained by the necessity which they suffered because of 
not having any food to eat ; for this reason they arranged to 
surround the deer and other kinds of animals, in order to re- 
lieve the necessity which we all shared. This place has a 

1 The party were evidently in the neighborhood of Alpine. 

2 Cerco, perhaps a circle made by back firing. The allusion to San Lorenzo 
refers to his death by burning. 

3 Day of the Holy Kings (Epiphany). 

4 The trees called nogales in the diary are in all probability pecans, which 
are abundant in many parts of Texas. 



328 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

beautiful plain which extends eastward, and toward the north 
are some hills without any trees. From the slope of a hill 
issues a beautiful spring, round about which there is fine 
black land. The place has little wood. The holy cross was 
not erected for lack of timber. 

On the 8th day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place of San Pedro de Alcantara, whose marks are already 
given. We camped for the night without water and wood. 
All the road is level. 

On the 9th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was named San Bernardino de Sena, 
which is distant from San Pedro de Alcantara about eight 
leagues. It is in a plain without water, and the watering place 
is apparently about three leagues away. 

On the 10th day of the said month and year, we set out 
from this place, which was named San Francisco Xaviel. 1 It 
is distant from San Bernardino de Sena about four leagues. 
It has as marks three small hills standing toward the west; 
and toward the north a cliff 2 from which issues a spring of 
alkaline 3 but pleasant water. The pastures are good, and 
there is an abundance of mesquite wood. The tracks of buf- 
falo began to appear, but, although search was made, none 
were found. The holy cross was not erected for lack of suit- 
able timber. 

On the 11th of the said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name San Juan del Rio. It 
is in a beautiful plain. In its environs there are four high 
mesas ; from the small one toward the north flows a spring ; 
within three arquebus shots, apparently, there issue five other 
springs, 4 all beautiful ; and within the distance of half a 
league a most beautiful river is formed, although without any 
kind of tree, it having only camalote 5 patches. The water is 
very clear, although a little alkaline ; it is well supplied with 
fish. Mass was celebrated. It is distant from San Francisco 
Xaviel four leagues, rather more than less. The holy cross 

1 St. Francis Xavier. 2 Sexa, cf. ceja. 3 Gordo. 

4 The doubt here is between Barrilla Springs and those at Fort Stockton, 
but the distance from the Salado points to the latter. 

6 The camalote is an aquatic plant of the family pontederiaceoB (Diccionario 
Salvat). 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 329 

was not erected for lack of suitable timber, although there is 
abundance of mesquite wood. Three bulls were killed in this 
place, and with them came relief to the great need which all 
the camp suffered. 

On the 12th day of the month and year we set out from 
the above named place of Senor San Juan, and camped for 
the night about five leagues from it without water. Half way 
we found a very beautiful spring which flows toward the north ; 
toward the east runs a chain of mesas, on the right hand as 
we came. All the road is level, without stones, covered with 
much pasturage and with mesquite and other kinds of wood. 
It was named San Anselmo. The holy cross was not erected 
for lack of suitable timber. Mass was celebrated. 

On the 13th day of the said month and year we set out from 
San Anselmo, and arrived at this place on the Salado River, 
which comes from New Mexico; its course is southeast. 1 
Apparently it carries as much water as the Rio del Norte. 
The water is muddy and somewhat alkaline, although pleasant. 
It has no trees, but it is very well supplied with mesquite and 
good pasturage. Mass was celebrated, but the holy cross was 
not erected for lack of suitable timber. 

On the 14th day of the said month and year we were de- 
tained on the Salado River. The place was named San Chris- 
toval. It is distant from San Anselmo about six leagues. 
In front there is a little mesa separate from the others. The 
delay was for providing meat. 

On the 15th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place of San Christoval, where mass was celebrated. 
The day before, when we stopped, six buffalo bulls were killed, 
with which the camp was supplied. A great saline was dis- 
covered, without water, but abundantly supplied with salt in 
white and good grains. It is about a league on the other side 
of the Salado River, between a high hill and a mesa which 

1 Literally, from north to east. The distance from La Navidad en las 
Cruces is estimated at seventy leagues, or sixty-three from Santiago, which, it 
is inferred, was on the Rio Grande. It is clear that the direction was generally 
northward, and that the Salado (Pecos) was reached some distance above Horse- 
head Crossing. The air-line distance from the mouth of the Conchos to Horse- 
head Crossing is about one hundred and sixty miles, but by the trails it must be 
nearly two hundred miles. 



330 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

is beyond. 1 All the foregoing are toward the east. In this 
part where we are there is a small mesa separated from the 
others already mentioned ; in front of the small mesa is the 
saline. 

On the 16th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, where two masses were celebrated. It is on 
the same Salado River, and is distant from San Christobal 
about three leagues. The water in the river became better. 
Toward the west it has a great mesa, from which a range of 
hills extends toward the east. On the other side of the river, 
toward the east, about four leagues apparently, there is a little 
range of mountains ; from it extends a small mesa ; above this 
rises another little mesa which commands a wide prospect. 
The holy cross was not erected for lack of suitable timber. 
The place was given the name of Santo Domingo Soriano de 
la Nocha Buena, 2 because we were free from cold. About the 
middle of the night it commenced to rain as if it were summer, 
but the glorious saint was pleased that it should not continue, 
for all the companions came without tents. 

On the 17th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was given the name of San Juan de 
Dios. Mass was celebrated in it. It is distant from Santo 
Domingo about six leagues. All the district is a plain, par- 
ticularly along the banks of the said Salado River. The pas- 
tures are apparently good, although we found them burned, 
and because of this we halted, a league, apparently, from the 
rancheria of the people whom they called the Jediondos. 
Their chiefs and other people came out to receive us with much 
rejoicing, most of them on foot, others on horseback, carrying 
a holy cross very well made, which apparently must be two 
and a half varas long, of somewhat heavy timber, painted red 
and yellow, and fastened with a nail which they call taxamanil. 
The holy cross showed that they had made it some time be- 
fore. They also brought forth a banner of white taffeta, a 
little less than a vara long ; in the middle of the banner were 
two successive crosses of blue taffeta, very well made. At the 

1 There is such a saline north of the Rio Grande in Crane County, a few 
miles above Horsehead Crossing. 

2 St. Dominic of Sora, of the Fortunate Night. Noche Buena is also the 
name applied to Christmas Eve. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 331 

time of meeting us they fired several shots, Don Juan Sabeata 
firing with a fuse an arquebus barrel without a lock ; and I 
ordered the salute returned on our part with two volleys. 
As soon as we met I ordered that no soldier should dismount, 
but only the reverend fathers preachers, Fray Nicolas Lopes, 
custodian and ordinary ecclesiastical judge, and Father Fray 
Juan de Sabaleta, commissary of the Holy Office. Kneeling 
with much devotion, they kissed the holy cross. I did the 
same, being on horseback, with the other comrades ; and the 
Indians kissed the garments of their reverences. 

Together we arrived at the rancheria, to the middle of 
which we crossed the Salado River, without any shelter. 
When we approached the rancheria, all the women and chil- 
dren came shouting in token of the great pleasure which they 
felt at seeing us. All the women and children kissed the holy 
habit of the reverend fathers. All of the chiefs and other 
people wished to give us lodging and entertainment in their 
own rancheria in some huts of tule, which they had made for 
us, but I did not consent to it, because of the evil results which 
might follow, excusing myself with good reasons. I pitched 
the camp on a hill, according to the usage of war, separated 
from the said rancheria, which is at the foot of a great rock 
that serves it as protection against the hostile Apaches. It 
was given the name San Ygnacio de Loyola. Here I re- 
mained awaiting news of a great ambuscade which the enemy 
are coming to make on them in order to carry off many horses. 

On the 19th of the aforesaid month and year, in the place 
of San Ygnacio, where I am detained at the request of all the 
Jumanos and the other nations, and being occupied with pro- 
viding the soldiers with supplies of arms and other implements 
of war, on the said day all the chiefs, with the governor J)on 
Juan de Sabeata, assembled, saying that they wished to speak 
to me, the said governor speaking for himself and all the chiefs 
and different nations. For this purpose, I on my part ordered 
all the chiefs of squad and soldiers of rank to assemble, in 
order that they might be present. This being done, I com- 
manded Governor Don Juan Sabeata and all their chiefs to 
say what it was they wished ; and all, in one voice, asked that 
for the love of God I should make war on the hostile Apaches, 
who were enemies of theirs and of the Spaniards. Because 



332 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

this was true, and because the said governor and the chiefs 
protested that it was not wise to leave them behind, on ac- 
count of the many dangers which might follow, and seeing 
that they petitioned forcibly, I granted that war should be 
made upon them, with which the governor and other chiefs 
were pleased. 

On the 20th day of the said month and year, in the said 
place of San Ygnacio, the governor, Don Juan Sabeata, ap- 
peared before me saying that, in order that some men might 
be armed, he was bringing me seventeen deerskins, which he 
did bring, and they were divided among those who were most 
needy. He promised that as soon as the others which were 
lacking could be cured, he would bring them. 1 These deer- 
skins were divided among the following persons: Captain 
Hernando Martin Serano, three ; Nicolas Lucero, two ; Miguel 
Luxan, two ; Melchor de Archuleta, two ; Felipe Montolla, 
two; Captain Felipe Romero, one; Captain Ygnacio Baca, 
another; Ensign Antonio Solis, another; Sargento Baltasar 
Domingues, another ; Juan Domingues, the younger, another ; 
Antonio Gomes, another. 

On the 24th day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place of San Ygnacio de Loyola, where we had been de- 
tained seven days. On the 8th we set out from the said place, 
in which mass was celebrated every day. On Saturday it was 
sung in honor of the Most Holy and Perfect Virgin and with 
all solemnity another prayer was celebrated. The following 
Sunday two other masses were celebrated. The place is dis- 
tant from San Juan de Dios about a league. During the seven 
days all the camp killed twenty-seven beeves. 

From this place, which was given the name La Conversion 
de San Pablo, 2 whose day occurred while we were here, we set 
out on the 25th of the said month and year. On arrival here 
meat was killed, and in the place two masses were celebrated. 
On the night which we camped there without water, Juan 
Sabeata told us that the spies had informed him that they 
had followed the tracks of the horseherd which the hostile 
Apaches had driven off. This place is distant from San 
Ygnacio about five leagues. It is in a plain, but because the 

1 Perhaps they were for shields or bucklers. 

2 The conversion of St. Paul is celebrated on January 25. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 333 

country was burned we stopped on a hill which was well sup- 
plied with pasturage. 

In this place, which was given the name San Honofre. 
It is distant from La Conversion de San Pablo about five 
leagues. It is level country with wood, although without 
pasturage because of its being burned. By the time of our 
arrival at this place of San Honofre five beeves had been killed 
on the way as we journeyed. Here God our Lord was pleased 
to let us find an abundance of cattle and pasturage and suffi- 
cient wood. The place is in a plain. In a flat it has a spring 
of clear and good water. We arrived here on the 25th and 
remained two days in order that the horses might recuperate. 
We set out from the place on the 28th. Mass was celebrated 
every day. Thirty-four beeves were killed. A cross was not 
erected for lack of suitable timber. In this place there joined 
us the people whom they call the Arcos Tuertos ; x their wear- 
ing apparel and all the rest is after the fashion of the Suma 
nation. 

On the 29th day of said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name San Marcos, because 
upon arriving at it a bull was killed within the camp. It is 
distant from the place of San Honofre about ten leagues. 
The location is good, and has abundant pasturage and wood. 
The watering-place runs from a hill where a holy cross was 
placed, for there was suitable timber. Mass was celebrated. 

On the said 29th day we did not set out from San Marcos, 
through the accident of some horses having been lost. In- 
cluding the first beef animal, thirty-two were killed in this 
place. A holy cross was erected, two masses were celebrated, 
and we set out on the 30th of the said month and year. 

On the last day of the said month we arrived at this place, 
which was given the name San Joseph. It is in a gorge which 
has a pool of good water, much wood, and pasturage. It is 
distant from San Marcos four leagues, rather more than less. 
Mass was celebrated and a holy cross erected. We remained 
to take advantage of the good pasturage one day, which was 
the 1st of February. 

On the 2d day of February of the said year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name Nuestra Senora de la 

1 Twisted Bows. 



334 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

Candelaria, because we spent that day there ; our arrival was 
on the 21st, 1 1 having decided to remain that day here. The 
day of the Most Holy Virgin 2 was celebrated, our reverend 
preacher custodian, Fray Nicolas Lopes, singing mass in her 
honor; the reverend preacher Fray Juan de Sabaleta said 
prayer. It is distant from the aforesaid place of San Joseph 
about six leagues and is at the point where the Nueces River 
is reached. 3 Here we ate some catfish. The source of the 
river is in some springs. It flows toward the east. The 
place is pleasant, having much wood, pasturage, and fish. A 
holy cross was erected. 

On the 5th day of the month of February, 1684, we set 
out from this place, which was given the name El Arcanjel 
San Migel, and where we remained two and a half days pas- 
turing the horses because of their being worn and thin. It 
is distant from Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria about three 
leagues. There is in the said place a river bearing much 
water, the source of which is not known because it comes from 
beneath the earth and issues through some rocks. A holy 
cross was erected above the orifice from which the river emerges. 
This place is very aptly named Where-the-Dogs-Live, because 
there come out from the water many dogs of all colors, of the 
same size as the other dogs, and of the same species, although 
bred in the water. They say that they are more savage. 
They tear the people in pieces, and do the same with the 
buffalo bulls and cows that come to drink at the orifice. We 
saw the skeletons of the cows and the bulls, and likewise the 
excrement and tracks of the dogs. 4 

The river flows toward the east. The water is clear and 
good. In this place were the first pecan trees that we saw, 
for its bottoms have many groves of them ; many nuts were 
gathered, with which all the people of the camp were provided, 

1 Clearly an error for the 31st of January. It is in both transcripts. 

2 Feast of the Purification, or Candlemas, February 2. 

3 The distance from the village of the Hediondos to this point totals thirty 
leagues, and from the place where the Pecos was first struck, about forty leagues. 
The stream which he calls the Nueces is clearly the Middle Concho. The only 
other possibility is that it was the fork of the Colorado which runs through Mid- 
land County, but there are several considerations which exclude that stream. 

4 This report is perhaps partly fanciful. It may be that the animals de- 
scribed were wolves or coyotes. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 335 

for we had been subsisting on flesh only. The river flows to 
join that of the pearls. It also has shells, a variety of fish, 
and very lofty live oaks, so large that carts and other very 
bulky things can be made of them. There is a great variety 
of plants and of wild hens which make noise at dawn. The 
river bottoms are very extensive and fertile ; in its groves are 
many grape vines and springs, and many prickly-pear patches ; 
and all of the foregoing are on both sides of the river. The 
watering places for the buffalo are so near to the roads that it 
is not possible to round them up. During this stop we had 
always threatening us a rain storm, but God was pleased not 
to let it descend except on the last night, which was stormy and 
windy. 

The hostile Apaches stole nine animals, seven from the 
Jumana Indians, and the others, a horse and a mule, from the 
chief and Ensign Diego de Luna, respectively. Because of 
carelessness, these animals joined those of the Indians. It 
was not possible to follow them because of the great advantage 
which they had. 

On the 11th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was given the name San Diego. It is 
distant from San Migel about six leagues. We remained here 
four days because we were awaiting some spies, who brought 
us news, saying that they had discovered a rancheria of hos- 
tile Apaches, wherefore it was necessary to dispatch new 
spies in order to learn the truth of the matter. The first news 
proved to be false, though not altogether, because the tracks 
which they saw were old. Mass was celebrated every day. 

There were killed at Seiior San Diego forty-three beeves ; 
and while we were travelling to it there were killed by the 
Spaniards and the Indians together sixty beeves, rather more 
than less, by means of surrounding the cattle. The place is 
in a plaza which has several great groves of very tall pecan 
and live-oak trees. There are a great number of wild hens 
and other kinds of game. The watering place is a beautiful 
river which flows toward the east. 

On the 19th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was given the name El Angel de Guarda. 1 
It is distant from Senor San Diego about four leagues. 

1 The Guardian Angel. 



336 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

Through the accident of the bad weather a stop was made 
half way, where a heavy and tempestuous rain storm descended 
upon us, and through the information of the spies who many 
times brought us supposititious news that the hostile Apache 
were near and that it was best to stop. This craft and this 
deceitful procedure was all moved by Juan de Sabeata, who in 
nothing had told us the truth. The aforesaid places are on the 
banks of a river which flows to join with the principal, which 
they call Rio de las Perlas. The water is good. The country is 
well supplied with nuts and other food products, such as wild 
turkeys, sweet potatoes, buffalo, and many other kinds of 
animals. The river is supplied with many fish: catfish, 
boquinete, and matalote; and with shells; and with a variety 
of very agreeable song-birds. Mass has been celebrated every 
day. Eighty beeves have been killed, rather more than less. 
From this place, under this date, I dispatched the Jumana spies 
with the said Sabeata, because of the frauds in which he had 
been caught. There went in his company two Piros Indians. 

On the 22d day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name San Bissente Ferrer. 
It is distant from El Angel de la Guarda about three leagues. 
Our delay was incurred to pasture the horses. Mass was 
celebrated every day. It is on the same river. On both sides 
are great bottoms ; there is a great luxuriance of plants, nut, 
and other kinds of trees, and wild grapes, good pasturage, a 
variety of birds, and wild hens. The river has great abundance 
of fish. Eleven beeves were killed for the sustenance of the 
camp. 

On the 24th day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name El Rio de Senor San 
Pedro, which is the principal branch of the river which they 
call Rio de las Perlas or, by another name, Nuesses River, al- 
though all have nuts. This river is the one named in the order 
which I bring from Governor and Captain-general Don Do- 
mingo Xironsa Petris de Crusate, which order is now executed. 1 
This place is about eight leagues further down the said river 

1 Mendoza was now twenty-one (or twenty-four) leagues from the place 
where he had struck the Nueces River, which he had followed to its junction 
with the Rio de las Perlas, or Rio de San Pedro. Mendoza was apparently near 
San Angelo. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 337 

than the place where Don Diego de Guadalaxara arrived. 1 
It is distant from San Bissente Ferrer about five leagues. It 
is very luxuriant with plants, as are the others, although with 
greater abundance of water, because the rivers are united. 
In it were killed seven beeves. 

On the 27th day of the said month and year we set out 
from this place, which was given the name San Pablo. It is 
without permanent water, and that which we found was 
rain water. It is distant from the River of Sefior San Pedro 
about six leagues. Mass has been celebrated every day, and 
twice on holidays. There were killed about twenty beeves. 

On the 15th day of the month of March, 1684, we set out 
from the place which was given the name San Isidro Labrador. 
It is at the source of a beautiful river. At its headwaters it 
has many pecan trees. It is enclosed in a valley on both sides 
of which are rocky mesas. It is distant from the River of 
Sefior San Pablo about eight leagues. The road is level, 
with much pasturage and woods, and many hens. Mass has 
been celebrated every day. The beeves that were killed by 
the whole camp were two hundred, rather more than less. 

On the River of the Glorious San Clemente. On the 1st 
day of the month of May of the year 1684, we set out from this 
place with the advice of the reverend fathers preachers, Fray 
Nicolas Lopes, custodian and ordinary ecclesiastical judge of 
the provinces of New Mexico, and Father Fray Juan de Saba- 
leta, commissary of the Holy Office; and likewise with the 
advice of all the persons of rank — as are Sargento Mayor 
Diego Lucero de Godoi, chief of squad; Captain Hernando 
Martin Serrano, whom I have named as interpreter of the 
Jumana language ; and other chiefs of squad, namely, Ensign 
Diego de Luna and Diego Barela — and of other soldiers, con- 
forming to this advice because it seemed to me to be best for 
the service of both Majesties and the credit of the camp, be- 
cause of my not being able to sustain the great war which, 
from the north, the common enemies, the Apache nation, 
have made upon us. They have attacked us three times by 
night and by day, and the last night they wounded a soldier, 

1 See the Introduction, p. 314. This statement, made by one who was on 
both the expedition of 1654 and that of 1684, is of great importance in establish- 
ing the identity of the points reached by both. 



338 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

inflicting upon him three arrow wounds, besides other injuries 
which the Apaches have caused. 

From the west the bandit Indians of the kingdom of La 
Bizcaia, whom they call the Salineros, with great boldness 
made by night three attacks upon the aforesaid camp, and 
killed in the field two friendly Indians who had gone out to 
hunt, because they were asleep ; the latter Indians were of 
the Jediondos nation. And being without forces, and with 
only few munitions, I considered it best to return, in order to 
give an account to Captain Don Domingo Xironsa Petris de 
Crusate, governor and captain-general of the province of New 
Mexico and its presidio, that his lordship may do in the case 
what he may consider best for the service of both Majesties. 

We arrived at the said place of San Clemente on the 16th 
of the month of March. It is distant from the place of San 
Isidro about five leagues. The San Clemente River flows 
toward the east. 1 In this place there are no shells whatever; 
but I learned that six days' journey below the place on the 
same road there was a great quantity of large shells, and that 
most of them had pearls. The bottom lands of the river are 
luxuriant with plants bearing nuts, grapes, mulberries, and 
many groves of plums; with much game, wild hens, and a 
variety of animals, such as bear, deer, and antelopes, though 
few, but the number of buffalo is so great that only the divine 
Majesty, as owner of all, is able to count them. The stay in 
this place was to await forty-eight nations — not counting those 
who were present with us, who were sixteen — besides many 
others whom, through their ambassadors, I was awaiting. 
Afterwards they will be set down with their names, although 
curious. 

We were in said place, as already stated, from the 16th of 
March to the 1st of May. Every day the holy sacrifice of the 
mass was celebrated, for which purpose I built a bastion with 
two rooms ; the one below served as a chapel where they cele- 
brated mass, and they celebrated all the service of Holy Week, 
singing it, many Christian Indians who were among so many 
barbarous nations assisting in everything. All those present 

1 The distance from San Vicente, the junction of the two branches of the 
Nueces, totals nineteen leagues. San Clemente would seem to have been a point 
on the Colorado River not far from Ballinger. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 339 

in our company asked to become Christians. The other room 
of the bastion served as a safeguard against the aforesaid 
enemies, because it was on a hill, where it served as great 
security both for all the camp and for the horses. 

There occurred in this place a noteworthy event. A 
water-snake bit Diego Barela on the little finger, a deadly 
poisonous thing. In the time of four credos the poison went 
down to the stomach causing such vehement pain that we all 
thought that he would die at once. But God our Lord was 
pleased that our reverend father custodian should have with 
him an antidote for every kind of poison, and his reverence, 
caring with his own hands for the bitten part, and giving him 
the said herb to drink, caused him to emit at once a great 
quantity of what looked like carbon, and our Lord has been 
pleased to spare his life. 

By the whole camp of Spaniards and Indians there were 
killed in the aforesaid place of Senor San Clementi four thou- 
sand and thirty beeves. 1 These are only the large beeves 
which were brought into the camp and do not include those 
which they left lost in the fields, only removing the pelts from 
them, nor the little calves which they brought to the camp, and 
which were many. 

In order that they may go with all specification, by their 
names the aforesaid nations will be given. First, the Jumana 
nation ; the Ororosos, 2 the Beitonijures, the Achubales, the Cu- 
jalos, the Toremes, the Gediondos, 3 the Siacuchas, the Suajos, 
the Isuchos, the Cujacos, the Caulas, the Hinehis, the Ylames, 
the Cunquebacos, the Quitacas, the Quicuchabes, Los que 
asen Arcos, 4 the Hanasines. These nations are those who are 
accompanying us. 

Those for whom we are waiting are the following: People 
of the Rio de los Tejas, who had sent me a message that 
they would come, the Huicasique, the Aielis, the Aguidas, 
the Flechas Chiquitas, 5 the Echancotes, the Anchimos, the 
Bobidas, the Injames, the Dijus, the Colabrotes, the Unojitas, 
the Juanas, the Yoyehis, the Acanis, the Humez, the Bibis, 

1 This is an indication of the size of the throng of Indians which gathered 
at San Clemente, and also suggests the interest of the party in buffalo hunting. 

2 The Horrible Ones. 3 The Stinking Ones. 
i The Bow Makers. 6 The Little Arrows. 



340 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

the Conchumuchas, 1 the Teandas, the Hinsas, the Pojues, the 
Quisabas, the Paiabunas, the Papanes, the Puchas, the Pu- 
guahianes, the Isconis, 2 the Tojumas, the Pagaiames, the 
Abas, the Bajuneros, the Nobraches, the Pylchas, the Deto- 
bitis. the Puchames, the Abau, the Oranchos. The foregoing na- 
tions could not be awaited for the aforesaid reasons, but they 
remain friendly toward us. And an agreement was made with 
the messengers of the nations who were not present that a 
return would be made at their appointment, the time set be- 
ing the aforesaid year of twenty-five. 3 Separating ourselves, 
some nations departed toward their land with the Indian who 
governed them, who is a Christian and is proficient in the 
Mexican language and in Castilian. 4 

We provided meat and, with the other nations who were 
with us, took a different route from that which we first followed. 
There remained with us only some families. Juan Sabeata, 
fearful of his bad work, fled, for he had plotted with some 
nations to kill us, and then found out that we had learned it 
already from the same nations, who dealt with the Spaniards 
with great fidelity. His conduct having been so bad, he was 
perhaps afraid they would kill him, for he remained in bad 
repute with all those nations. 

On the 2d day of the month of May of the said year we set 
out from this place, which was given the name San Atanacio, 
because it was his day. It is on the same river, and has the 
same plants, a quantity of fish, and the same animals. It is 
distant from San Clemente about four leagues. 

In this place, which was given the name of Santa Cruz, 
we stopped to celebrate its day, which was the third, when 
its holy day was celebrated. 5 Mass was sung in its honor. 
Another prayer was celebrated the night before, eve of its 
day, when we were all expecting to see the enemies come to 
attack us; but God was greatly pleased that they should not 
do so. Thirty beeves were killed. The place is distant from 

1 The People of Many Shells. 

2 This name is nearly identical with that of the Iscanis, a Wichita tribe. 

3 An error for "eighty-five." 

4 This might be taken as an indication that these tribes had come from the 
south. 

6 The Finding of the Holy Cross is celebrated on May 3. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 341 

San Atanasio about three leagues. We set out from the said 
place on the 4th of May. 

In this place which was given the name of San Agustin, be- 
cause it is in a valley with many pines. It is on a river which 
flows toward the west. It has many mulberries and plums and 
pond ferns. It is distant from Santa Cruz about six leagues. 
Mass was celebrated every day. One hundred and twenty 
beeves were killed. We set out from the said place today, 
the 7th of May of the said year. 

In the place of La Hasencion del Senor, on the 11th of the 
month of May, which was the aforesaid day, 1 where our rev- 
erend father custodian sang the mass, and another prayer 
was said. It is on a river beautiful with pecan trees, grapes, 2 
and mulberries. It flows toward the east. We remained here 
four days, awaiting some spies who had gone to explore the 
country. Two hundred and fifty-five beeves were killed. We 
set out from this place on the 11th of the said month. 

On the 13th day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name San Lazaro, and where 
we remained one day. Half way between the two places is 
the source of the said River of La Hasencion. It is all rough 
land with much timber, although traversable. Its watering 
place is composed of rain water. Mass was celebrated. Thir- 
teen beeves were killed. 

On the 19th day of the month of May we set out from this 
place, which was given the name Nuestra Senora de la Piedad. 3 
It is distant from San Lasaro about fourteen leagues. In that 
distance four stops were made because a young man named 
Francisco de Harchuleta, who had gone out to kill meat, got 
lost. We travelled six days in search of him, but although 
efforts were made to find him in every direction, it was impos- 
sible to find him, and at the date of this writing he has not 
yet appeared. Our reverend father custodian sang mass in his 
behalf to the glorious San Antonio, in order that he might 
favor him and bring him to this camp ; may he be pleased to 
do so if it should be best. It was given the name Nuestra 
Senora de la Piedad, in order that she may have pity on this 
poor young man, taking him to a place where he may not lose 

1 Ascension Day fell on May 8 in 1684; May 11 was Sunday. 

2 Abas, perhaps a misprint for Ubas. 3 Our Lady of Mercy. 



342 TEXAS: MENDOZA-LOPEZ EXPEDITION [1684 

his life. Mass was celebrated every day; and during all these 
stops there have been killed one hundred and fifty beeves, 
rather more than less. All the watering places have been 
formed of rain water, all the country is timbered and has very 
good pastures, and all the land is pleasant. 

On the 21st day of the said month and year, the first day 
of the feast of Espiritu Santo, 1 we set out from this place which 
was given the name El Hespiritu Santo. It is distant from 
Nuestra Senora de la Piedad about eight leagues. Its water- 
ing place is not stable, it being rain water. All this land is 
plain and traversable. Our reverend father custodian sang 
the mass, and our reverend Father Fray Juan de Sabaleta the 
prayers. Twenty beeves were killed. It is worthy of note 
that from the place of San Clemente to this place in which we 
are we came by a different road from the one which we took 
on going, turning now on the way back to the right, and we 
are going almost straight west, 2 the luxuriance of the plants 
already having become less, as the fields are clothed only with 
good pasturage and some chaparral. There is an abundance 
of wild grapes in the dry arroyos. 

On the 22d day of the said month and year we set out from 
this place, which was given the name San Geronimo. It is 
distant from Hespiritu Santo about seven leagues. Its water- 
ing place is of rain water. The country and vegetation are 
the same as the preceding. Mass was celebrated. Six beeves 
were killed. 

On the said 22d day of the said month and year we arrived 
at sunset at this place on the Salado River, where God our 
Lord was pleased that we should come upon the track of the 
aforesaid Francisco de Harchuleta, who was lost at Nuestra 
Senora de la Piedad. Mass was celebrated. The Indians of 
the Xediondos nation withdrew without asking permission or 
telling us. Three beeves were killed. It is worthy of note that 
the place where we arrived at the Salado River is much below 
that where we left it in going, which was at San Ygnacio. 

On the 23d day of the said month and year we set out from 
the Salado River, which was given the name San Pantaleon. 
We arrived at a beautiful river with good water. The bottom 

1 Whitsunday came on May 18 in 1684. 

2 This statement gives us an important clue to the route. 



1684] ITINERARY OF MENDOZA 343 

lands are very luxuriant with pasturage, which looks like bar- 
ley. Our reverend father sang the mass of the Most Holy 
Sacrament, 1 in order that His Divine Majesty might be pleased 
that it should rain; and His Divine Majesty, having pity 
upon us, was pleased. To this river was given [the name of 
Corpus Christi. From] San Pantaleon it is distant about 
five leagues. Two bulls were killed. 

On the 25th day of the said month and year we set out 
from the said place of Corpus Christi and again struck the 
Salado River, at a place to which was given the name Santo 
Thomas de Villanueva, distant from Corpus Christi about ten 
leagues. Here we crossed the Salado River and struck the 
road which we followed on going, at San Juan de Dios, from 
where we again followed our former route. Mass was cele- 
brated. Only one bull was killed. 

In order that it may be attested, I signed it with my assist- 
ing witnesses in my presence, on the said day, month, and 
year. Juan Domingues de Mendosa. Diego Lusero de 
Godoi. Hernando Martin Serano. 

1 Corpus Christi. 



TEXAS 

3. THE DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS 
AND THE FOUNDING OF TEXAS, 1689-1690 



INTRODUCTION 

Before the Mendoza expedition was made, the King of 
Spain had already begun to consider the occupation of the 
country at the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1678 news 
was received at the Spanish court that Penalosa, a discredited 
ex-governor of New Mexico, had proposed at the court of 
France an expedition against northern New Spain. Incident 
to the investigation of the report the royal secretaries brought 
forth the Benavides memorial of 1630, and noted its recom- 
mendation that the Bay of Espiritu Santo, at the mouth of 
the Mississippi, be occupied as a base of operations in New 
Mexico and Quivira and as a defence against encroaching 
foreigners. Thereupon the king asked the viceroy for a re- 
port on the geography of the country east of New Mexico, 
and on the feasibility of Benavides's plan — "what advantages 
would come from Christianizing the kingdoms of Quivira and 
Tagago ; what means would be needed to effect it ; whether 
it could be done better by way of Florida than through the 
Bay of Espiritu Santo ; and whether any danger was to be 
feared from the proposals of Penalosa." 

In the succeeding years there were numerous raids by 
French corsairs on the Florida coasts, and in 1685 Martin de 
Echegaray, piloto mayor in Florida, was commissioned to ex- 
plore the Bay of Espiritu Santo with a view to its occupation. 
At the same time the king repeated his order of 1678 requiring 
from the viceroy a report on Quivira and Tagago. Matters 
were now brought to a focus by the La Salle expedition. 

In 1684 La Salle left France with his colony destined for 
the mouth of the Mississippi, but by accident it was landed 

347 



348 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS 

on Matagorda Bay. News of La Salle's enterprise soon 
reached Spain and Mexico, and there began a series of ex- 
peditions, four by sea and five by land, in search for the 
French and the Bay of Espiritu Santo. In January, 1686, 
Juan Enriquez Barroto, sent by the viceroy from Vera Cruz, 
explored west from Apalache and returned to Vera Cruz, re- 
porting that the Gulf was free from pirates. In 1687 the new 
viceroy sent out two brigs under Rivas and Yriarte, with 
Barroto as pilot, and two frigates under Pez and Gamarra. 
The brigs coasted west from Apalache to Matagorda Bay, 
where they found the wrecks of two of La Salle's vessels, and 
concluded that the French party had perished. Shortly 
afterward the frigates, coasting north, also saw the wrecks, 
and continued to Apalache. In the following year Pez ex- 
plored from Mobile Bay past the mouth of the Mississippi, 
in another search for La Salle. 

The five land expeditions were all made by Alonso de 
Leon, a soldier of Nuevo Leon, and son of a conspicuous 
pioneer of the same name. In 1686 he led a company from 
Monterey to the Rio Grande, followed the right bank of that 
stream to the Gulf, and explored south along the coast to 
Rio de las Palmas. Making another expedition in 1687, he 
succeeded in crossing the Rio Grande, but was turned back 
by a river called Salado or Solo. In this same year he was 
made governor of Coahuila and captain of the new presidio 
of Monclova. Being informed early in 1688 that a French- 
man was living among the Indians across the Rio Grande, in 
May De Leon crossed the river, captured Juan Jarri, as the 
Frenchman was called, and sent him to Mexico. In the fol- 
lowing year, 1689, accompanied by Father Massanet, De 
Leon again crossed the Rio Grande, went to Matagorda Bay 
and found the remains of La Salle's settlement, and on the 
Guadalupe River held a conference with the chief of the 
Nabedache, one of the Tejas tribes. 



INTRODUCTION 349 

The report taken back by De Leon that there were French- 
men living to the northeastward was a cause for further un- 
easiness ; and Father Massanet was eager to work among the 
long-talked-of Tejas; consequently, in the following year, 
1690, De Leon made a fifth expedition, in which he assisted 
Massanet in founding two missions near the Neches River. 
They were located among the Nabedache, the westernmost 
division of the Tejas, or Asinai (Hasinai) Confederacy. This 
was the beginning of Spanish settlement in the region then 
called Texas. 

In the same year Francisco de Llanos and Gregorio de 
Salinas were sent from Vera Cruz in charge of an expedition 
to explore Matagorda Bay with a view to finding a navigable 
river leading thence to the Tejas country. The records of 
this expedition have but recently come to light, and have en- 
abled us to determine the exact location of La Salle's colony. 
In the following year an expedition led by Domingo de Teran 
penetrated to the Cadodacho country in the Red River Valley 
and made explorations on the coast. But in 1693 various cir- 
cumstances caused the Tejas country to be abandoned, and 
it was more than two decades before it was reoccupied. 1 

The principal sources of the De Leon expeditions thus far 
published are the following: (1) Historia de Nuevo Leon con 
Noticias sobre Coahuila, Tejas y Nuevo Mexico, Por el Capitdn 
Alonso de Leon, un Autor Anonimo, y el General Fernando San- 
chez de Zamora (Mexico, 1909, in Garcia, Documentos Ineditos 
6 muy Raws para la Historia de Mexico, tomo XXV.). The 

1 For account of the De Leon and Teran expeditions see G. P. Garrison, 
Texas, pp. 20-33; R. C. Clark, The Beginnings of Texas, pp. 7-42; "Un 
Autor Anonimo," in Alonso De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon (Mexico, 1909, 
edited by Genaro Garcia), pp. 296-390, passim. On the location of La Salle's 
colony, see H. E. Bolton, in the Austin American, July 19, 1914, and his article 
on "The Location of La Salle's Colony on the Gulf of Mexico," in the Missis- 
sippi Valley Historical Review for September, 1915, II. 165-182. On the Hasinai 
Indians, see H. E. Bolton, "The Native Tribes about the East Texas Missions," 
in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, XL 249-276. 



350 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS 

first part of this work is by Alonso de Leon, one of the founders 
of Nuevo Leon and father of Alonso de Leon, conquistador of 
Texas. It is of great value for knowledge of the De Leon 
family and of the early career of Alonso de Leon, the younger. 
The second part of the work contains a continuation of De 
Leon's Relation, by an anonymous author, from 1650 to 1690, 
inclusive, and toward the end broadens in scope to embrace 
the history of Coahuila and Texas. It is dated at the end, 
September 7, 1690, just after the last De Leon expedition into 
Texas, in which the author took part. The writer had access 
to De Leon's papers, and the work is clearly intended as a 
biography of the explorer. It is of highest importance, for, 
besides throwing additional light on De Leon's early career, 
it contains a diary of the expedition of 1686, and accounts of 
the four remaining journeys of De Leon into Texas in 1687, 
1688, 1689, and 1690. (For a description of this work, see the 
American Historical Review, XV. 640-642.) 

(2) "Carta de Don Damian Manzanet a Don Carlos de 
Siguenza Sobre el Descubrimiento de la Bahia del Espiritu 
Santo." Father Damian Massanet, author of this document, 
was a member of the College of the Holy Cross of Queretaro, 
who went to the Coahuila frontier as missionary about 1687. 
He accompanied De Leon to Matagorda Bay in 1689, and was 
made comisario of the new missions which were immediately 
thereafter planned for eastern Texas. He returned to Texas 
with De Leon in 1690, and supervised the founding of the 
missions on the Neches. In 1691 he again returned to Texas, 
with the Teran expedition, of which he wrote a most impor- 
tant diary. Shortly afterward the Texas missions were aban- 
doned, and Father Massanet disappears from history, so far 
as available records show. He was a man of great personal 
force, and his writings are among our most important sources 
of information regarding the beginnings of Texas. 

The Carta was published in 1899, in facsimile, in the 



INTRODUCTION 351 

Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, II. 253-312, to- 
gether with a translation by Miss Lilia M. Casis, professor 
of Spanish in the University of Texas. The facsimile is from 
a signed manuscript belonging to the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College of Texas, and formerly belonging to Ramirez, 
Maximilian's Secretary of State. The title under which the 
manuscript was published is that given it in Quaritch's cata- 
logue. When vol. II. of the Quarterly was reprinted in 1911, 
the translation was revised somewhat. The version printed 
hereinafter is that of Professor Casis as revised. 

(3) "Derrotero de la Jornada que hizo el General Alonzo 
de Leon para el descubrimiento de la Bahia del Espiritu 
Santo, y poblacion de Franceses: Ano de 1689." This itin- 
erary, by De Leon, is contained in the manuscript collection 
known as " Memorias de Nueva Espana," vol. XXVIL, ff. 1-16. 
A translation of this version, reproduced here, was published 
in 1905 by Miss Elizabeth Howard West in the Texas State 
Historical Association Quarterly, VIII. 199-224. With it is 
published a map of the route, made by Siguenza. Other man- 
uscripts of this document are noted in Bolton, Guide to the 
Archives of Mexico (Washington, Carnegie Institution, 1913) . 

(4) "Alonso de Leon, Carta en que se da noticia de un 
viaje hecho a la bahia de Espiritu Santo, y de la poblacion que 
tenian ahi los Franceses," Coahuila, May 18, 1689 (printed 
in Buckingham Smith's Coleccion de Varios Documentor para 
la Historia de la Florida y Tierras Adyacentes, tomo L, London, 
1857, pp. 25-28, and in French, Historical Collections of Loui- 
siana and Florida, second series, New York, 1875, pp. 293-295). 
This is a brief report to the viceroy by De Leon immediately 
after he returned to Monclova. It contains interesting de- 
tails not given in the diary or in Massanet's account regard- 
ing the conference with the "governor of the Tejas." 

Besides these published documents there are numerous 
unpublished manuscripts in the archives of Mexico and Spain. 



352 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS 

Of these the only one reproduced here is De Leon's Itinerary 
of the 1690 expedition. Of this the editor possesses three 
different transcripts : (A) one from the Archivo General y Pub- 
lico of Mexico, lacking the first few entries ; (B) one from the 
Archivo General de Indias at Seville; and (C) one from a manu- 
script in the collection of Genaro Garcia, the noted Mexican 
editor. This collection has recently been purchased by Yale 
University. B bears the title, "Diario, Derrotero y De- 
marcacion de la tierra de la Jornada que . . . hizo el Gen- 
eral Alonso de Leon . . . al reconocimiento de los Franceses 
que hubiere[n] en la Bahia del Espiritu Santo y Provincia de 
las Texas." A and B, which represent the official report sent 
by De Leon from the Rio Grande on his return, are prac- 
tically identical, with minor differences in spelling. The trans- 
lation here presented is based on A, excepting the entries 
preceding April 9, which are lacking in A. These are sup- 
plied from B and C. C is the version included by the Autor 
Anonimo in the Historia de Nuevo Leon. Between C and 
the other two manuscripts there are many minor differences, 
and some essential ones. In general C is the fullest of the 
three, but not uniformly. Some of the more important 
differences are noted by the editor in foot-notes. 



LETTER OF FRAY DAMlAN MASSANET TO 
DON CARLOS DE SIGUENZA, 1690 1 

Letter of Don Damian Manzanet to Don Carlos de Siguenza 
relative to the Discovery of the Bay of Espiritu Santo. 

My dear Don Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora: 

The following is the narrative for which you ask me, of 
the discovery of the bay of Espiritu Santo 2 and the Rio de los 
Tejas: 3 

In the year 1685-1686, His Excellency the Viceroy, who at 
that time was Conde de Paredes, Marques de la Laguna, gave 
orders to the Marques de S. Miguel de Aguayo, who was then 
governor of the Nuevo Reyno de Leon, to send out a company 
of horse soldiers along the sea-coast 4 lying north beyond Tam- 
pico, towards the Rio Bravo and the Magdalena. 5 And the 
said governor sent out fifty men, headed by Captain Alonso 
de Leon. With his soldiers, the said commander reached the 
sea-coast, and following along the coast, they passed the Rio 
Bravo 6 with considerable difficulty. This river is the same 
found at the passage 7 into New Mexico, and the Indians give 
it various names, for it is called by different persons Rio Bravo, 

1 Translation by Professor Lilia M. Casis, in Texas State Historical Associ- 
ation Quarterly, II. 253-312. 

2 Up to this time the name Bahia del Espiritu Santo was applied to the 
mouth of the Mississippi, but the accident of La Salle's landing at Matagorda 
Bay, when he was reported to the Spaniards to have sailed for Bahia del Espiritu 
Santo, caused it to be transferred to that point. The error was remarked upon 
by officials at the time. 

3 The Neches River. 

4 The document says "Mar del Norte," or North Sea, the name applied to 
the Atlantic Ocean and its arms. 

5 See note on the Magdalena River, p. 224, above, note 4. 

6 The diary of the expedition shows that Father Massanet is mistaken in 
this statement. The expedition did not cross the Rio Grande, but, following 
its south bank to the coast, turned south to Rio de las Palmas (Diary, in De Leon, 
Historia de Nuevo Leon, pp. 307-308). 

7 El Paso. 

353 



354 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1687 

Rio Grande, Rio Turbio. In New Mexico it was never known 
whence this river originated; all that was ever found out was 
that it issued from the Gran Quivira. Thus said the Indians 
who came to New Mexico from the interior. 

But let us turn our attention again to the route taken by 
Captain Alonso de Leon and his soldiers. After crossing the 
Rio Bravo they reached another river, to which they gave the 
name of Rio Solo. 1 This river, they say, forms at its mouth 
a lake which they were unable to pass, and they returned to 
the Nuevo Reyno de Leon without having had any news of 
the bay of Espiritu Santo, and still less of the French who 
were settled about this bay. 

By order of His Excellency, the said governor sent a second 
time an expedition to discover the bay, and he sent two com- 
panies of horse soldiers led by Captain Alonso de Leon, and they 
arrived the second time at the Rio Solo, when, not able to 
proceed any further, they returned without bringing any in- 
formation. And since they had twice gone down to the sea- 
coast, and on both occasions failed to learn anything, they 
considered the whole report as being unfounded. So it came 
about that they paid no more attention to the matter and took 
no further steps concerning it. 

At this time I was living at the Mission Caldera, 2 in the 
province of Coahuila, whither I had gone with the intention 
of seeing whether I could make investigations and obtain in- 
formation about the interior of the country to the north and 
northeast, on account of facts gathered from a letter now in 
my possession, which had been given in Madrid to our Father 
Fray Antonio Linaz. 3 This letter treats of what the blessed 
Mother Maria de Jesus de Agreda made known in her convent 
to the father custodian of New Mexico, Fray Alonso de Bena- 
vides. 4 And the blessed Mother tells of having been fre- 

1 In the 1687 expedition De Leon crossed the Bravo and was impeded by a 
Rio Salado. It was evidently the same as the Rio Solo which Father Massanet 
places here (De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 310). 

2 Caldera is situated east of Monclova, near the Nuevo Leon border. 

3 Father Llinaz was founder of the College of the Holy Cross of Queretaro. 
Massanet had come to America with him in 1683. A full biography of Father 
Llinaz is contained in Espinosa's Chronica, libros II. and III. 

4 For the foundation of the story of the miraculous conversion of the Jumano, 
see Benavides, "Memorial," in Land of Sunshine, XIV., and Vetancur, Chronica 



1687] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 355 

quently to New Mexico and to the Gran Quivira, adding that 
eastward from the Gran Quivira are situated the kingdoms of 
Ticks, Theas, and Caburcol. She also says that these names 
are not the ones belonging to those kingdoms, but come close 
to the real names. Because of this information, brought by 
me from Spain, together with the fact of my call to the min- 
istry for the conversion of the heathen, I had come over and 
dwelt in the missions of Coahuila, and learning that His Ex- 
cellency was taking steps to open up the interior, to lead to 
the discovery of the bay of Espiritu Santo, and to find out 
whether any Frenchmen were there, I endeavored to learn from 
the Indians coming from the interior whether they knew where 
there dwelt men white like the Spaniards. And in time I 
learned that there were indeed some, and he who told me was 
an Indian whom I had with me, a man whom I had converted 
a little before, and in whom, though he had been a pagan, I 
had recognized a high degree of truthfulness. Thereupon I 
charged him very earnestly to ascertain in detail where and 
how far distant these settlers might be, and what manner of 
people they were, likewise whether the country to be traversed 
were passable. 

Just at this time there arrived another Indian, of the Querns 
nation, and he told me that he had been even in the very 
houses of the French; there were many of them, he said, in- 
cluding women; they were well armed, and had some very 
large firearms (which were the pieces of ordnance). On my 
asking whether he were well acquainted with the country, he 
said that, if I wished, he would take me to the place without 
any risk, that there we should also find priests 1 like myself, 
and that already the people were sowing maize and other crops. 

At this time Captain Alonso de Leon, the same who had 
gone out as commander of the companies from the Nuevo 
Reyno de Leon, became captain of the presidio of Coahuila, 2 
and before going out to his presidio he came to the Mission 

de la Provincia del Santo Evangelio (1697), p. 96. Secondary accounts are in 
Shea, The Catholic Church in America, I. 195-198, and Schmidt, "Ven. Maria 
Jesus de Agreda: a Correction," in the Texas State Historical Association 
Quarterly, I. 121-124. 

1 Relijiosos, including both priests and lay brothers. 

2 His commission as governor of Coahuila and captain of the presidio of 
Coahuila (Monclova) was dated July 13, 1687. 



356 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1688 

Caldera, where I was living, and I made known to him what 
had passed between the Indians and me concerning the dis- 
covery of the bay of Espiritu Santo, endeavoring to persuade 
him that we should set out thither. He asked whether there 
were some unmistakable signs which might be made known to 
His Excellency and which would make it evident to him that 
the report was true, so that he might undertake the expedition. 

Then I called the Indian named Juan, captain of the Pac- 
pul nation, and bade him say what he would dare undertake 
in order to ascertain and prove that there were in the interior 
men white like the Spaniards. He said that in a rancherla of 
heathen Indians, which must be some sixty leagues distant, 
there was a white man, one of those dwelling in the interior, 
and that, if I so wished, he would go and bring the other out 
of the rancheria. Thereupon I despatched him, and that he 
might the more readily execute his commission I gave him the 
clothing and the horses which I had with me, for him to give 
to the chiefs of the place where was the man of whom he spoke 
(whom from the description given, I inferred to be French). 

This captain of the Pacpul nation, known as Juan, set out, 
and having come close to the sierra of Sacatsol 1 (which means 
"stone nostrils/ 7 and in the language of the Indians of that 
place is called Axatscan, with the same meaning) he found an 
assembly of many Indian nations composed of the following: 
Mescales, Yoricas, Chomenes, Machomenes, Sampanales, Pa- 
quachiams, Tilpayay, Apis. This sierra of Sacatsol is twenty 
leagues beyond the Rio Grande, which is the stream coming 
from the north, and is called also Rio del Norte; the distance 
from the Mission San Salvador 2 to the said sierra is sixty 
leagues, and from Coahuila the same. 

The said Indian Juanillo found the said Frenchman, told 
him that I was asking for him, and took him out to another 
rancheria, leaving word with the Indians that they should not 
be afraid, and that I desired to visit them. Returning, he 
told me how he had left the Frenchman, and that we might 
without fear go after him. I notified Captain Alonso de 
Leon, who, with twelve men, went quite undisturbed, and 

1 See note on Sacatsol on p. 297, above. This place was the objective-point 
of the Bosque-Larios expedition. 

2 Massanet's mission at Caldera. 



1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 357 

they brought the Frenchman, painted like the Indians, old 
and naked. 1 His name was Juan Francisco So-and-so, and 
he says that he is a native of Cheblie in New France. This 
Frenchman Captain Alonso de Leon placed in the hands of 
His Excellency the Conde de la Moncloba, and in all his tes- 
timony the said Frenchman always lied. 

After the Conde de la Moncloba had determined on the 
expedition to discover the bay of Espiritu Santo, there arrived 
as viceroy in this kingdom His Excellency the Conde de Galbe, 
who put his whole heart into this cause. As soon as he came 
into power His Excellency ordered Captain Alonso de Leon to 
pursue the journey to the bay of Espiritu Santo, as his pred- 
ecessor had ordained, and for the said expedition forty men 
went out from the presidios of Vizcaya, and from the Nuevo 
Reyno de Leon forty others. From all the men three com- 
panies were formed, having Captain Alonso de Leon as com- 
mander-in-chief and Nicolas de Medina as sargento mayor; 
the leader of one company was Tomas de la Garza, of the 
second Lorenzo de la Garza, and of the third Alonso de Leon, 
the royal alferez, 2 Captain Francisco Martinez, who was a dis- 
charged sargento, having just finished his term of service in 
Flanders. 

We left Coahuila on the twenty-sixth 3 of March in the 
year 1689, and went as far as the Rio del Norte, 4 which, in 

1 This was in May, 1688. Strangely enough, in the sworn declarations made 
by De Leon regarding the expedition to find the Frenchman, he makes no 
mention of Father Massanet. De Leon states that he got his information re- 
garding the Frenchman from Agustin de la Cruz, a Tlascalteco Indian who had 
been sent across the Rio Grande to summon the friendly tribes to aid in a cam- 
paign ("Auto para la salida a buscar al frances," in Portillo, Apuntes, p. 224). The 
Autor Anonimo writes that the wife of a Querns Indian living near the Rio Bravo 
was captured by his enemies. He set about finding her, and in the attempt 
wandered to the French village. On his return he went to Massanet' s mission 
and told his story, and then went on to Saltillo. No attention was paid to the 
report until the time of the expedition, but as they approached the rancheria 
of the Querns Massanet recounted the story, whereupon the Querns Indian was 
sent for and made the guide (De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, pp. 323-324). 

2 Ensign. 3 The start was made on March 23 (see Itinerary, p. 388). 
4 Reached April 1, at a point not far from San Juan Bautista. The Sigiienza 

map shows the route from the crossing of the Rio Grande to Matagorda Bay to 
be considerably north of east, when, as a matter of fact, the general direction is 
nearly east. 



358 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

the said province of Coahuila, is called the Rio Grande, our 
guide still being the Indian Juanillo, and when we reached the 
said river, I sent for the Indian who knew the country and 
had been among the Frenchmen, whom I call Querns, because 
he belonged to the Indian nation of that name. We travelled 
on towards the northeast and at times east-northeast, until 
we reached the river of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 1 And here 
I asked this Indian whether the dwellings of the French were 
still a long way off, thinking that when we should be distant 
from them a day and night's journey, some of us might push 
forward in order, unnoticed, to take a survey of the village. 
The Indian replied that the village was about fifteen leagues 
distant from that river. 

On the morning of the next day Captain Alonso de Leon 
asked me what we should do in order to ascertain the number 
of Frenchmen and the condition of things in their village. 
With regard to this there were various opinions, mine being 
that, since we had with us the Querns Indian, who was well 
acquainted with the country, we should all have a mass sung 
in honor of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe that very morn- 
ing, at the very place in which we were; also that when we 
should succeed in reaching the dwellings of the Frenchmen 
we should have another mass celebrated, in honor of Saint 
Anthony of Padua. All consented very readily to this, and, 
soon, at about nine o'clock in the morning, the mass to the 
Virgin was sung. 

After that it was arranged that, the two Indians, Juanillo 
the Papul and the Querns Indian, serving as guides, twenty- 
five men 2 should travel on with us until we should come upon 
the French village in the early morning, while the remaining 
soldiers with the beasts of burden should come behind us and 
camp when they reached a suitable spot. This spot they 
should then not leave until we returned, unless by the express 
command of Captain Alonso de Leon. When we started out, 
the rear-guard received orders to proceed slowly, watching 

1 Reached April 14. The details of the journey to this point are supplied 
by the Itinerary and the map. The Guadalupe was crossed near Victoria, per- 
haps a little below it. 

2 According to the Itinerary the Guadalupe was crossed on the 15th, and the 
governor went ahead on the 16th with sixty men. 






1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 359 

cautiously lest any Indian should appear; in case any did, 
they were to seize him without doing him the least harm, 
and notify us of the capture. 

After travelling some four leagues, the rear-guard saw an 
Indian come out of a dense wood, and called to him, and he 
went towards them without any show of resistance. They 
sent us word, and we halted. 1 On the arrival of the Indian 
the two we had along asked him whether there were there- 
abouts any of the white people who dwelt further on. He 
said that, as to those living further, they used to inhabit houses 
which now no longer existed, for, two moons 2 previous, the 
Indians of the coast had killed all but a few boys, whom they 
had carried off ; that he himself lived in the rancheria of the 
Emet and Lavas Indians, which was about two leagues out 
of the route which we were following towards the bay of Es- 
piritu Santo. We went with this Indian to the rancheria of 
which he spoke, and reached it at about three in the afternoon. 
As soon as the Indians became aware of our presence, they 
made for the wood, leaving to us the rancheria, together with 
the laden dogs, which they had not been able to drive fast 
enough when they fled. The Indian who served as our guide 
himself entered the wood, and called to the others, declaring 
that we were friends, and that they should have no fear. 
Some of them — and among these was their captain — came out 
and embraced us, saying: "Thechas! techas!" which means 
" Friends! friends !" One of those who came out first was a 
big young fellow about twenty years old, who wore a Recol- 
lect friar's cloak, and when we saw that it was the cloak of a 
friar, we gave him a blanket, and I took the robe from him. 

The said Indians told how, two days previous, two French- 
men had passed by with the Tejas Indians. That very after- 
noon we started in pursuit of the said Frenchmen, and at sun- 
set, we reached the rancheria of the Toxo and Toaa Indians, 
who told us that the said Frenchmen had passed by with the 
said Tejas, and had been unwilling to remain there with them. 
That night we slept near the rancheria, and at eight in the 
evening some Indians came to the place where we were, one 
of them dressed after the fashion of the French. And they 
brought some French books and a Holy Bible. The next 

1 This was on the 16th (Itinerary). 2 The Itinerary says three moons. 



360 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

morning 1 we set out in quest of the said Frenchmen, passing 
through some very dense woods; and at about two o'clock in 
the afternoon we came to some ranchitos of Emet Indians. 2 
On our inquiring concerning the Frenchmen, these Indians 
pointed out to us an Indian who had just arrived and who 
had conducted them (the Frenchmen) as far as the San Marcos 
River, 3 and when we wished to cross they told us that we 
would not be able to cross the said river. We told the Indian 
who had led the Frenchmen that if he would take them a 
paper and bring an answer we would give him a horse, and that 
he should take the answer to the houses where the French- 
men lived. Captain Francisco Martinez wrote the letter in the 
French language because he was master of it. 

We returned where the camp was, five leagues beyond the 
Guadalupe River, 4 and we learned that three days previous 
the horses had stampeded, and a number having been recov- 
ered, fifty were still missing, and in pursuit a soldier had lost 
his way. This man remained missing four days, and in the 
meantime he met with some Indians who were skinning a 
buffalo, who took him home with them at nightfall to their 
rancheria, giving him to eat of the buffalo meat, and whatever 
else they themselves had. On the day after this, an Indian 
belonging to the same rancheria came there with a small 
bundle of tobacco. This Indian was the one who had been 
with us, and he made a long harangue to all the Indians who 
were in the rancheria. As to the soldier who was lost, when 
he met with the Indians who had the buffalo, they spoke to 
him by signs, and he understood them to tell him to make a 
fire. This he must have inferred from seeing the meat they 
had, or he was frightened at seeing himself lost among bar- 
barian Indians ; he spilled on his cloak the powder he was 
carrying in a flask, and on his striking the light a spark fell 
on the powder, and it burned his whole side from head to 
foot. When the Indians learned that we were in their terri- 
tory they must have come to the conclusion that, since that 
man was lost, his comrades would be sure to look for him. 

1 On the 17th (Itinerary). 

2 According to the Itinerary this place was fifteen leagues north of the 
Guadalupe crossing. It must have been somewhere near Hallettsville. 

3 The Colorado was probably meant here. 

4 It had moved eastward in De Leon's absence. 



1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 361 

The next day they brought him his horse, and, since he was so 
badly burned that he could not help himself, the Indians 
themselves saddled it for him, and assisted him to mount, 
telling him by signs to go with them. They brought him very 
near to the place where we were, just a couple of shots away. 
The Indians who brought him, not wishing to approach us, 
signified to him that he should go on, using signs to indicate 
to him where we were, at the foot of a hill which he saw there. 
At the foot of that hill, on the other side, they left him, and he 
reached us at nine in the morning, which was for all a source 
of great satisfaction. We felt very sorry when we saw how 
badly burnt he was. 

On the following day 1 we left for the settlement of the 
Frenchmen, and when we were about three leagues from it 
there came out some twenty-five Indians. Now the old 
Frenchman who accompanied us took occasion to say that the 
settlement of the Frenchmen was not in the place to which 
the two Indian guides were taking us. On the way this French- 
man tried several times, by means of an Indian of the Cavas 
nation whom he had with him, to make our two Indians de- 
sert us, or say that it was very far, and that we should not be 
able to cross the rivers which were on the way. I resented so 
much that the Frenchman should be given occasion to speak 
that I grew angry, and Captain Alonso de Leon said to me : 
"Father, we are going wherever you wish." We continued 
following the two guides quite three leagues ; 2 we arrived at a 
stream of very good drinking water, and the two Indians said 
to me : " Lower down on the bank of this stream are the houses 
of the French, which must be about three leagues off." Then 
the old Frenchman saw that there was no help, and that we 
were certain to come upon the village. He then said : "Sir, 
now I know very well, yea, very well, that the houses are on 
this little river." 

We started the next morning, and three leagues off we found 
the village of the Frenchmen on the bank of the stream, 3 as 

1 The 21st (Itinerary). 

2 Going east-northeast eight leagues they struck a creek three leagues above 
the French settlement ; it was the Garcitas. 

3 On the Garcitas, about five miles above its mouth. The site of La Salle's 
settlement was identified by the present writer on July 5, 1914. It is on the 



362 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

I had been told by the two Indians, the Querns and Juanillo 
the Papul. We arrived at about eleven in the forenoon, and 
found six houses, not very large, built with poles plastered 
with mud, and roofed over with buffalo hides, another larger 
house where pigs were fattened, and a wooden fort made from 
the hulk of a wrecked vessel. The fort had one lower room 
which was used as a chapel for saying mass, and three other 
rooms below ; above the three rooms was an upper story serv- 
ing for a store-house, wherein we found some six loads of iron, 
not counting scattered pieces, and some steel, also eight small 
guns and three swivels made of iron, the largest pieces being 
for a charge of about six pounds of shot. The pieces and one 
swivel were buried, and Captain Alonso de Leon carried off 
two of the swivels. There was a great lot of shattered weapons, 
broken by the Indians — firelocks, carbines, cutlasses — but they 
had not left the cannon, only one being found. We found two 
unburied bodies, which I interred, setting up a cross over the 
grave. There were many torn-up books, and many dead pigs. 

These Frenchmen had a piece of land fenced in with stakes, 
where they sowed just a little corn, and had an asparagus 
bed ; we found also very good endive. This place affords no 
advantages as to situation, for good drinking-water is very 
far off, and timber still further. The water of the stream is 
very brackish, so much so that in five days during which the 
camp was pitched there all the horses sickened from the 
brackish water. 

The next day 1 we went down to explore the bay of Espiritu 
Santo, 2 and coasted it until we succeeded in finding the mouth ; 
in the middle of this there is a flat rock, and all along the 
shore of the bay there are many lagoons which it is very diffi- 
cult to cross. Blackberries are abundant, large and fine, and 
there are a number of stocks which seem to be those of grape 

ranch of Mr. Claude Keeran, in Victoria County. See an article by Bolton in 
the Austin American, July 19, 1914, and his article on "The Location of La 
Salle's Colony on the Gulf of Mexico," in the Mississippi Valley Historical 
Renew, II. 165-182. 

1 Saturday, April 23 (Itinerary). They did not get back till the 25th. Father 
Massanet makes it appear that the journey was all made in one day. 

2 The Itinerary and the Sigiienza map show that De Leon first turned south- 
west and went round the head of Zorillo Creek, going thence to a place near 
Port Connor. 



1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 363 

vines, but no trees, and no fresh water. The Indians dig wells 
for drinking water. 

After exploring the bay we returned to the main body of 
our party, whom we had left in the village ; we arrived there 
at noon, and remained there that afternoon, and the next day 
they bent the large iron bars, making them up into bundles, 
in order to carry them with ease. We found the Indian with 
the reply to the letter which we had written to the French- 
men; 1 they said that we should wait for them, that they 
would soon come, that another Frenchman was further on, 
and that they were waiting for him in order that they might 
come all together. The Indian received the horse, as we had 
ordered. As to the fort, Captain Alonso de Leon would not 
have it burnt down, and it remained as it was. 

The next day 2 we set out on our return trip to the Guada- 
lupe River, and when we got halfway, since we saw that the 
Frenchmen did not come, Captain Alonso de Leon, with twenty- 
five men, 3 went to the rancheria where they were, and the 
main party went on as far as the Guadalupe River, where it 
remained waiting three days. The Frenchmen were in the 
rancheria of the Toaa Indians, with the Tejas ; they came to 
the Guadalupe with Captain Alonso de Leon and arrived there 
on the 2d 4 of May, '89. Two Frenchmen came, naked except 
for an antelope's skin, and with their faces, breasts, and arms 
painted like the Indians, and with them came the governor 
of the Tejas and eight of his Indians. Through that day and 
night I tried my utmost to show all possible consideration to 
the said governor, giving him two horses, and the blanket in 
which I slept, for I had nothing else which I could give him. 
Speaking Spanish, and using as an interpreter one of the 
Frenchmen whom we had with us, I said to the governor that 
his people should become Christians, and bring into their 

1 The letter, which was written with red ochre, is reproduced by the Autor 
Anonimo (De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 334). 

2 The 26th. 

3 De Leon made an expedition to the Lavaca River at this time which 
Massanet does not mention. Crossing the Garcitas and going three leagues 
east, he reached the Lavaca (he called it the San Marcos) and followed it nearly 
to its mouth (Itinerary, pp. 401-402). When he started north in search of the 
Frenchmen, De Leon took thirty men (Itinerary). 

4 The Itinerary says May 1. 



364 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

lands priests who should baptize them, since otherwise they 
could not save their souls, adding that if he wished, I would go 
to his lands. Soon the afore-mentioned governor said he would 
very willingly take me there, and I promised him to go, and 
to take with me other priests like myself, repeating to him 
that I would be there in the following year, at the time of sow- 
ing corn. The governor seemed well pleased, and I was still 
more so, seeing the harvest to be reaped among the many souls 
in those lands who know not God. 

The next day was the day of the Holy Cross 1 — the 3d of 
May ; after mass the governor of the Tejas left for his home 
and we for this place. We arrived at Coahuila, 2 and Captain 
Alonso de Leon sent two Frenchmen — the one named Juan 
Archebepe, 3 of Bayonne, the other Santiago Grollette — from 
Coahuila to Mexico, with Captain Francisco Martinez, and 
His Excellency the Conde de Galbe had the Frenchmen pro- 
vided with suitable clothes and dispatched to Spain on ship- 
board in the same year, '89. 

All this news did not fail to create excitement and to give 
satisfaction not only to His Excellency but also to other 
men of note in Mexico, and there were several meetings held 
in order to consider measures not only for keeping the French 
from gaming control of those regions and settling in them, but 
also for the introduction of religious ministers. 

At this time His Excellency deigned to send for me, asking 
the Reverend Father Luzuriaga to give orders for my coming. 
I was living at the mission of San Salvador, in the valley of 
Santiago, in the province of Coahuila. I went to Queretaro, 
arriving at my College of the Holy Cross on the 24th of Octo- 
ber, in the year '89, and left for Mexico on All Souls' Day. 
On the 5th of November I came to the convent of San Cosme, 
and the next day there entered Mexico the Very Reverend 
Father Fray Juan Capistrano, who came from Spain as com- 
missary general of this province of New Spain. 

It seemed that our Lord had ordained that it should not 
be Father Luzuriaga's good fortune that in his time priests 4 
of the order of our Father Saint Francis should go among 

1 Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross. 

2 On May 13 (Itinerary). 3 L'Archeveque. 
4 Relijiosos, including both priests and laymen. 



1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 365 

the Tejas, for he always objected to the idea that the brethren 
of that holy order should undertake missions to the heathen, 
their chief office being that of apostolic missionaries among 
communities of both the faithful and infidels. For after the 
reverend fathers, Fray Juan Bautista Lazaro and the Pre- 
dicador 1 Fray Francisco Esteves, 2 came to Guasteca, 3 and 
founded at Tamaulipas a mission for heathen Indians when 
already the mission included more than three hundred fam- 
ilies, without counting a large number who were in process of 
joining, and the Indians were very much pleased and very 
attentive to the Christian doctrine, the Reverend Luzuriaga 
ordered the fathers to depart, and to leave the said mission 
and the Indians, no ground or motive being stated except 
that those regions belonged to the district of Tampico, and 
that the priests 4 belonging to that district would look after 
that settlement of Indians. The reverend fathers obeyed the 
Reverend Luzuriaga's orders with heavy hearts, seeing that, 
after the arduous labors by which they had gained that post, 
those poor heathens would be lost. After those priests had 
departed and left the Indians, the district fathers 5 never 
again gave a thought to them or the posts. When the fathers 
took leave of the Indians there was a pitiful scene, and what 
the Indians said moved one to tears, for they asked why the 
fathers, though priests and ministers of God, had deceived 
them, since they had pledged their word to minister to them, 
to teach them and baptize them, and now, if the unsettled 
life they led, without rule or law, were an evil one, whereby 
they should lose salvation, the fathers would be to blame, 
for these were leaving them and had deceived them. With 
these and many other expressions they parted, the fathers in 
tears over the fold which was now without a shepherd, yet 
on the other hand feeling compelled to obey. On another 
occasion, when the superior of our holy order begged for 
permission to enter New Mexico, the Very Reverend Luzu- 
riaga refused and would not allow it. He ever remained ad- 

1 Preacher. 

2 A biography of Father Estevez is contained in Arricivita's Cronica, lib. II., 
caps. I.-VL 

3 Huasteca, the coast country about Tampico. 4 Ministros. 
5 Los padres de aquella custodia (the fathers of that custodia). 



366 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

verse to the introduction of priests among the heathen. How- 
ever, when there came out of the land of the Tejas tidings of 
discoveries which were noised abroad, he thought of many 
possible measures, and of sending priests 1 out of the prov- 
inces, but our Lord God ordained that when I reached Mexico 
another commissary general, as I have already said, was 
ruling. 

I reached the said city and saw the very reverend father 
and we spoke of the Tejas. I told him how I had been called 
by His Excellency and by the Very Reverend Luzuriaga, and 
he said to me: "See His Excellency, and then we shall con- 
fer." I had an interview with His Excellency, and spoke at 
great length of the bay of Espiritu Santo and of the Tejas, 
and immediately he replied that he would foster the cause 
with might and main. 

Besides the news which we had brought with us on return- 
ing from the bay of Espiritu Santo, Captain Alonso de Leon 
had brought the information that an Indian who had come 
from there at a more recent date than ourselves said that 
among the Tejas there were eighteen Frenchmen, and that 
houses had been built; that they had flocks of goats and 
sheep, and that some of the Frenchmen had gone to their 
country for women and for more men. 2 I do not know what 
Captain Alonso de Leon had in view in giving this account 
to His Excellency, for I had seen the Indian and spoken to 
him before he saw Captain Leon, and he told me that he came 
from the interior, and had been told that six Frenchmen, 
who seemed to have lost their way, were wandering among 
the Tejas. He had also heard of the coming of some Tejas 
Indians, and that on their advancing further on this side of 
the Rio Hondo other Indians had come out to attack them, 
that they had killed two of them, and that the rest had re- 
turned to their homes. It seems to me that they must have 
made the old Frenchman who lived in Coahuila say this, 
because in tracing the report to its source they said, "Juan 
says so"; and since the said Juan lied in all his accounts, 

1 Relijiosos. 

2 Detailed information relative to proceedings after De Le6n returned to 
Mondova is contained in Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, estante 61, cajon 6, 
legajo 21. Transcripts of these documents are possessed by the editor. 



1689] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 367 

he certainly lied that time also, for the Indians themselves 
were ignorant of such an occurrence, and when we went 
among the Tejas they knew nothing about the reported 
murders. 

But to return to our subject. When I was in Mexico and 
had spoken to His Excellency at different times concerning a 
second expedition to the bay of Espiritu Santo and a visit 
to the Tejas His Excellency resolved to call a general meet- 
ing 1 in order to decide what should be done. Taking for 
granted the information given by Captain Alonso de Leon 
about a settlement of Frenchmen among the Tejas, and con- 
cerning the death of those who had settled on the bay of 
Espiritu Santo, it was uncertain whether some French vessel 
might have come afterwards with settlers for the bay; besides, 
there were other grounds for action in the fact that the Tejas 
were asking for priests for their country. All these grounds 
being taken into account in the general meeting, there were 
various opinions, and finally His Excellency decided that a 
second expedition should be undertaken to the bay of Es- 
piritu Santo. Previously Captain Alonso de Leon had al- 
ready made known to His Excellency all that was necessary 
for that journey in case it should be undertaken. His Ex- 
cellency ordained that Captain Alonso de Leon should go as 
commander, taking with him a hundred and ten soldiers — 
twenty from the presidios of Viscaya, those nearest Coahuila, 
forty who enlisted in Sombrerete 2 and Zacatecas, the rest 
from Saltillo and the Nuevo de Leon — one hundred and fifty 
loads of flour, two hundred cows, four hundred horses, fifty 
long firelocks, twelve hundred weight of powder, and three 
hundred weight of shot. They were to inspect the bay of 
Espiritu Santo and to ascertain whether there were any 
Frenchmen left of those who used to five there, or whether 
others had recently arrived; the wooden fort built by the 
French was to be burnt down, and Captain Alonso de Leon 
was to communicate with the governor of the Tejas from the 
bay of Espiritu Santo as to whether he would be willing to 
have the ministers of the Holy Gospel enter into his territory, 
as he had promised Father Fray Damian Manzanet a year 

1 Junta general. One was held July 5, 1689, and others later. 

2 A city north of Zacatecas, founded in the middle of the sixteenth century. 



368 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

previous. If the governor consented, then they should escort 
the priests, proceeding with every precaution, and should 
dispatch an order requesting and charging the Very Reverend 
Father Commissary General to send with Father Fray Damian 
Manzanet those of the brethren of the Holy College of the 
Cross who should prove suitable, the said father to decide 
how many priests would be needed at first. At the same time 
he was to be provided with all the necessaries for the journey. 
And I, being present at this general meeting, remarked that I 
would take along three priests for the Tejas, myself being the 
fourth, besides two for the mission of San Salvador, which 
is on the way, making a total of six priests to be sent by the 
college; and in the event of the Tejas receiving the faith, 
then the college should send whatever other priests would 
be required. This was resolved by the general meeting. 

Afterwards His Excellency bade me make a note of what 
I needed to take along, whereupon I replied that for the mo- 
ment I only wanted wine for the masses, a wafer-box, and 
wax; as to other necessaries, such as vestments and other 
things, I should procure them myself. It was determined 
that the journey should take place after Christmas, so when 
the Christmas feast was over His Excellency dispatched Cap- 
tain Francisco Martinez with twenty mules laden with wine, 
wax, and so on, also clothing for distribution among the In- 
dians and six loads of tobacco; and at the College of the 
Holy Cross at Queretaro, with the priests who were to accom- 
pany me, I awaited him. These priests were the Father 
Predicador Fray Miguel Fontecuberta, 1 the Father Predi- 
cador Fray Francisco de Jesus Maria, the Father Predicador 
Fray Antonio Perea, the Father Predicador Fray Francisco 
Hidalgo, the Father Predicador Fray Antonio Bordoy. Those 
who remained in the Mission San Salvador were the fathers 
Fray Antonio Perea and Fray Francisco Hidalgo. 

We left Coahuila 2 for the Tejas on the third day of the 
Easter feast, March 28, '90. When we left, the twenty sol- 

1 There is a biography of Father Fontcuberta in Espinosa's Chronica, lib. 
IV., cap. II. ; one of Father Casafias, ibid., caps. II.-IX. ; of Father Perea, ibid., 
cap. XV. ; of Father Hidalgo, in Arricivita, Cronica, lib. II., caps. X.-XII. 

2 Monclova. The baggage left Monclova on the 26th. On the 27th the 
soldiers set out (Itinerary). 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 369 

diers from Vizcaya had not yet arrived. The forty from 
Zacatecas were for the most part tailors, shoemakers, masons, 
miners — in short, none of them could catch the horses on 
which they were to ride that day, for when they had once 
let them go they could manage them no longer. Besides, 
we had saddles that could not be worse. 

Thus we went on travelling by the route described in the 
journal which was kept of this expedition. 1 What I noticed 
was that on our first trip we had found many Indians along 
the rivers and everywhere else, while this time we went to 
inspect the bay of Espiritu Santo and returned to the Guada- 
lupe River without having found a single Indian in all the 
country. Twenty of us reached the fort built by the French- 
men, the rest remained with the horses by the Guadalupe 
River. We saw no trace of Frenchmen having been there 
during our absence, all being as we had left it the year be- 
fore, except that certainly there were signs that the Indians 
had dwelt there. I myself set fire to the fort, and as there 
was a high wind — the wood, by the way, was from the sloop 
brought by the Frenchmen, which had sunk on entering the 
bay — in half an hour the fort was in ashes. This was at the 
hour of noon; afterwards we went down to the coast of the 
bay, all along the banks of the arroyo by which the French- 
men passed in and out of the bay with their barges and canoes. 
And after we had arrived, some of the soldiers of Reyno de 
Leon said that they wished to bathe, in order to be able to 
tell that they had bathed in the sea, this being esteemed so 
remarkable a thing that they carried away flasks of sea- 
water which later, in their own country of Monterey, it was 
held a great favor to try and to taste, because it was sea- 
water. 

On our first journey there was a soldier in Coahuila who 
was a Creole from Pablillo. His father's name was So-and-so 
de Escobelo, and when he learned that an expedition to the 

1 Printed hereinafter. The party was met at the junction of the Nada- 
dores with the Sabinas by the soldiers from Nuevo Leon and the missionaries on 
the 30th. On the 4th of April the Rio Grande was reached ; on the 9th the Nueces; 
on the 11th the Hondo; on the 19th the Medina; on the 23d the Guadalupe. 
On the 25th De Leon left the camp on the Guadalupe and set out with twenty 
men to reconnoitre the French settlement, arriving there next day ; from there he 
went down to the Bay (see the Itinerary, pp. 405-409). 



370 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

bay of Espiritu Santo was being planned, he wrote a letter to 
Captain Alonso de Leon, which letter ran as follows : " Com- 
padre, I entreat you to do me the favor of taking my son 
Antonio among your troops, that when he is old, he may 
have a tale to tell." 

While the soldiers were bathing, we saw in the bay two 
dark and bulky objects, looking like buoys, and though there 
was some discussion as to whether they might be buoys, no 
special investigation was made, such as Captain Alonso de 
Leon and Captain D. Gregorio Salinas made later in order 
to give information to His Excellency. The said buoys must 
have been distant from the land about two gunshots, and they 
were not in the mouth of the San Marcos River, 1 as they 
reported, nor is the mouth of the San Marcos River half a 
league wide, as they said, for whoever said so did not see it, 
and I, who saw it on the feast of San Marcos (that is why it is 
called the San Marcos River), I say that the mouth of the 
river is about a gunshot wide. 

We returned to the main body of the army, 2 which awaited 
us by the Guadalupe River ; arriving there we found nothing 
new. The next morning we left for the country of the Tejas, 3 
and journeyed some six leagues. On the next day there was 
no travelling done. Some soldiers went out to reconnoitre, 
and to see whether there appeared any Indians from whom 
they might gather information. They found none, and no 
smoke was seen, nor was there ever any answer to that which 
daily we allowed to rise. The next morning while I was say- 
ing mass two gunshots were heard far away in the thicket 
towards the Guadalupe River. Some one went to see who it 
was, and it proved to be three 4 of the soldiers who belonged 
to the garrisons of Vizcaya. They came up, and we asked them 
about their journey, and they told us of hardships as follows : 

On the second day of the Easter feast they had arrived at 
Saltillo, namely, twenty soldiers of the two presidios of Vizcaya 

1 The Lavaca. 2 On April 27 (Itinerary). 

3 According to the Itinerary, on the 28th De Leon went up the Guadalupe 
six leagues and returned, and on the 29th set out for the Tejas, going six leagues 
that day. 

4 On the 30th the Itinerary mentions the same incident but gives the num- 
ber of soldiers as two. 



mulatto who sought to help his master he gave a back-handed 



41 

Seuan, 
■ tafla. It. -■ 

. CAROLINA 

.>*'<^,'.'r ba£iiaa*sL jfxMjr < 
a/ oh:- 



1 



ciife) 



r" r. •; 



^^< 






DE LEON'S ROUTE IN 1690 FROM MONCLOVA TO THE NECHES EIVER 
Eroia the original manuscript map in the Archives of the Indies, Seville 



-v;u me oulu me itinerary mentions tru 
ber of soldiers as two. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 371 

which are nearest Coahuila, i. e., Cuencame and El Gallo. 
And the sargento mayor of Vizcaya, Juan Bautista Escorza, 
appointed a mulatto named Martincho So-and-so leader of the 
ten men he sent. The captain of the presidio El Gallo, a 
native of Vizcaya whose name w r as Ogalde, sent as leader of 
his ten soldiers Joseph de Salcedo, a Spaniard. While they 
were in Saltillo, a town inhabited by Spaniards, one of Mar- 
tincho's men had words with Captain Anchiondo, and the 
alcalde mayor, Don Alonso Ramos, nephew to the president of 
Guadalajara, tried to seize him, but could not, because the 
said soldier and his companion decamped and went off where 
their camp was stationed on the hacienda of Captain Nicolas 
de Guajardo. Thither the said alcalde mayor followed them. 
He arrived close behind them, and spoke very politely to the 
leader of the said soldiers, and the said Martincho agreed to 
take along the soldier next day in order that he might make it 
up with Captain Anchiondo. They went next day, and on 
the arrival of the said leader with the soldier at the govern- 
ment houses, it happened that the alcalde mayor received word 
concerning a christening to which he was invited. He said 
to the soldiers, "Wait for me a while, I shall be back"; and 
so on his return the difference existing between the two men 
was settled, and they made friends. But next day a tale- 
bearer — they are numerous in the town of Saltillo — did not 
fail to tell Martincho that the alcalde mayor said that he would 
find means to punish the Viz cay an soldiers, and that wnen he 
was away at the christening he had left them as prisoners in 
the government houses. At this Mantincho took offense, 
questioning whether the alcalde mayor had jurisdiction over 
military cases, and he made a complaint. He called four of 
his soldiers, whom he took with him, saying to them that if 
they were not men, and intended to flee, they should not ac- 
company him. Finally they went to the government houses, 
and Martincho left the four soldiers at the door, and, without 
giving warning, he entered the hall, and gained access to the 
room where the alcalde mayor was with a priest from Coahuila. 
On entering he drew his sword and dealt the alcalde mayor a 
stroke, taking off a considerable piece from his head, and cut- 
ting off one of his arms, so as to leave him crippled, and to a 
mulatto who sought to help his master he gave a back-handed 



372 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

blow which split his head. The priest took away Martincho's 
sword, and just then the inhabitants of the place came crowd- 
ing up to the door to assist the alcalde mayor. The soldiers 
who were keeping guard would not allow them to enter, but the 
crowd afterwards came in through the corral. It was then 
about ten o'clock in the morning. Martincho departed, he 
and his companions getting upon their horses and returning 
to the camp which he had established at the house of Guajardo. 
All the men of the town followed with weapons in pursuit, 
and after much dispute, Martincho having offered resistance 
in the said house, he allowed himself to be seized because the 
holder of the warrant, Geronimo Montes de Oca by name, as- 
sured him that his life was safe. This occurred on the Thurs- 
day after Easter ; that night the alcalde mayor himself passed 
sentence on him, and he received the notification in bed. The 
sentence was that he should be shot according to military 
usage, and on the next day, Friday, March 21, in the year '90, 
Martincho was shot on the plaza at Saltillo. 1 

This news the Vizcayan soldiers brought us as their excuse 
for not having arrived in time to set out from Coahuila with us. 

These soldiers of whom I have spoken as arriving on that 
day were three that came along on the same trail while the 
others were following slowly, driving their horses, which were in 
a very bad condition. So six soldiers were sent with a load of 
flour to meet them, and Captain Alonso de Leon and myself 
with fifteen men set out 2 in a northerly direction for the San 
Marcos River, 3 in order to try to find some Indians, burning 
fires day and night to see whether they should be answered 
by others. We spent six days in this sea-region without being 
able to find a single Indian. We crossed the San Marcos 
River on the feast of the Cross, May 3. The next day, as we 
were still travelling north, it being already late, about five 
o'clock in the afternoon, all of us weary now with the seven 
days' journey, 4 we saw some buffaloes, and the soldiers went 

1 The Itinerary omits the foregoing story entirely. 2 On the 30th. 

3 The Colorado. Seeing this stream higher up, they thought it the same 
as the Lavaca, which they had seen at the mouth, where it was called the San 
Marcos. 

4 The Itinerary puts this incident on the 3d, and the fifth day after setting 
out. It would be only the fifth according to Massanet, likewise. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 373 

out to kill something for supper that evening. I remained 
with a son of Captain Leon, and as we were walking directly 
forward, at the report of a gun an Indian woman came out 
of the thicket, and looking by chance to the left, I saw an ob- 
ject in the distance ; it was impossible to tell whether it was 
an Indian or a tree, but on watching closely to see whether it 
was moving I saw another and a smaller object issue forth, 
from which it was evident that they were both Indians. Leon's 
son and I set out towards them, and when we had come closer 
I waved my hat to them, whereupon they fled, making for 
the thicket. Just then Captain Leon arrived with some sol- 
diers, and we went up to the thicket and could not see or find 
any Indian ; we did find some buffalo hides set close to a tree 
so as to make a shade, also a great quantity of buffalo meat, 
dried as well as fresh, three wild turkeys that were roasting, 
and buffalo tongues and udders very fine, like hams. Nothing 
was taken away from them, nay, more, we left them a bunch 
of tobacco, some small knives, and some ribbons, and went 
away. We slept that night on a little hill a couple of gun- 
shots away from that place, the soldiers keeping a careful 
watch. At about nine that night, I noticed that the fire of 
the Indians grew brighter, and then I said to Captain Alonso 
de Leon : "Either these Indians are numerous, and therefore 
they fear us not, or those that are here, seeing that we have 
taken nothing from them, but, rather, left them more, are 
good people and desire to be at peace." 

In the morning before sunrise I called the Querns Indian, 
and told him that we would try to ascertain whether those 
Indians were few or many, whether they were willing or not 
to be friendly, and to what nation they belonged. The Querns 
replied, as usual, " Father, what you desire me to do shall be 
done." Then I gave a soldier the order to take off the armor 
he had on, bidding the Querns Indian wear it, and I had a 
good horse given to the Indian, and said to him : "See here ! 
if the soldiers go to visit the Indians, perchance these will be 
afraid, and flee ; it will be better for you alone to go to recon- 
noitre. If one of them comes out peaceably to meet you, tell 
him to come forward, for we are not here to take away from 
them what they possess, or to hurt them ; on the contrary, 
we wish to be their friends, and help them to our utmost." 



374 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

As the said Indians came forth Captain Leon and his soldiers 
mounted their horses to be ready to assist our Indian in case 
the others should be numerous and should try to kill him. 
The Querns Indian came near the place where we had seen 
the Indians, and soon one of them came out towards him. 
The Querns waited for him, and they spoke at great length. 
And our Indian told him by signs — this being the most usual 
language — not to be afraid, and that he might safely come to 
us, for we were good people, and the Indian, seeing the Querns 
painted like himself, believed all that he told him, and the two 
came on together. After we had talked by signs a long time 
to the aforesaid Indian, he led us to his ranchito 1 and we 
found his wife and boy about ten, and there were no other 
people. These were of the Tejas nation, and had come to 
hunt buffaloes and carry the meat to their village. Soon we 
arranged for the transportation of the meat they had, and 
charged the man to take word to their governor, telling him 
that we were waiting for him at the spot where we had found 
them. 2 At noon we sent them forward, and returned for the 
night to the spot already referred to, where we had found these 
Indians. This place is at a distance of thirty leagues, rather 
more than less, from the village of Tejas. 

The next morning four soldiers were sent out to the main 
body of the army to take a message, giving them the order to 
come and join us, as we were waiting for them at that place. 
By this time the provisions were consumed, and we were living 
simply on roasted meat. The next day at about five in the 
afternoon the Indian whom we had sent out appeared with 
his wife and the boy, in the same place, and on our asking him 
how it was that he had not gone on to his settlement he told 
us that his horse had run away from him that night, 3 that he 
had left the meat hanging on a tree, and that he had come 
near to us to try to catch the horse. They slept with us that 
night, and the next morning we held a consultation as to 
whether it might not be that other Indians had come with 
him, and he was acting as a spy; with this in view it was re- 
solved that four soldiers should examine the country around 
for about three leagues and see whether there were Indians or 

1 Hut. 2 According to the Itinerary this occurred on May 4. 

3 The Itinerary recounts this incident as occurring on the 5th. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 375 

tracks of any kind. About three leagues away they found an 
Indian, a very tall youth on an excellent bay horse; the In- 
dian was hunting buffalo, and though he was by himself he 
began to raise a hue and cry as soon as he saw the four sol- 
diers, riding around as if he had no fear. The soldiers drew 
near him without exposing their guns or making any show 
of fight, and they made signs to him that he should come with 
them. And they brought him, and we gave him of what we 
had, and told him that if he would go with a message to the 
governor of the Tejas we would give him a horse. As soon 
as the other Indian whom we had first sent saw that another 
man was going with the message, he asked for a good horse, 
and said he would go, and leave his wife and boy for us to 
take care of until he returned with the governor. So we sent 
him, telling him to light fires along the road by which they 
should come, and that we would answer by the same signal. 

After four days, our company reached the San Marcos 
River, 1 and came upon the Indians of the rancheria Emat, 
Too, Toaa, and others, and these Indians said that further 
along there were other Indians, and with them two French- 
men. Leon, remaining with a few soldiers, sent for them and 
they came. 2 The one was named Pedro Muni, a Creole, from 
the city of Paris, the other Pedro Talo, a Creole, from New 
France; these had firelocks, a sack of powder, and shot, more 
than twenty reales of the lowest value, in silver, Spanish 
money, and eighty gold eight-dollar doubloons, French money. 
After the doubloons had been passed from hand to hand, there 
were only thirty-nine left. One of the two Frenchmen men- 
tioned, P. Muni, must have been about twenty years old; the 
other, Pedro Talo, eleven or twelve. 3 

The main body of the soldiers reached the place where we 
were, and the day after they came Captain Leon arrived with 
the two Frenchmen. 4 There came also to that spot an In- 

x The Colorado. It was crossed on the 9th (Itinerary). 

2 De Leon went after Talon himself, accompanied by eight soldiers, trav- 
elling twenty-six leagues (Itinerary). 

3 Pierre Meunier and Pierre Talon. See the latter's deposition in Margry, 
Decouvertes et Etablissements des Frangais, III. 610-621. The real was then, as 
now, equivalent to about twelve and one-half cents. 

4 De Leon returned with Talon, and took a part of the camp across the San 
Marcos (Colorado) on the 11th; on the 12th three Indians brought Muni (Itin- 
erary). 



376 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

dian who was thoroughly acquainted with the road into the 
country of the Tejas, and he showed us the way until we met 
with the governor of the Tejas, 1 together with fourteen or 
fifteen of his Indians, and the Indian whom we had sent to 
him with our message. It was about ten o'clock in the morn- 
ing when we came upon them by an arroyo in which they were 
bathing, and, on account of the thick woods, they did not 
see us until we were very close to them. As soon as the gov- 
ernor saw me he came forward to embrace me; we sat down 
to talk by signs — this being the most usual mode of communi- 
cation in those regions; and he produced a small sack of pow- 
dered tobacco, of the kind which they grow, and another small 
sack of pinole, white, and of very good quality. After talk- 
ing we left the place, and went to rest a while. That night 
it was arranged to provide the governor with garments, in 
order that he might enter his village clothed, so that his peo- 
ple might see how highly we thought of him. 

Three days later, on Monday, May 22, 1690, we entered 
the village. 2 It was raining heavily on our arrival. That 
year it had, up to that time, rained but little, and already the 
corn was suffering from the drought, but every day of the 
eleven that we spent in the village it rained very hard. 

At evening on the day of our arrival, the governor being 
in the tent with us, an old Indian woman brought him for his 
meal a large earthenware vessel full of cooked frijoles, 3 with 
ground-nuts and tamales. That evening the governor said 
that he would spend that night with us in the tent, and take 
us to his house next day, but afterwards, it being already 
late, Captain Leon insisted that they should go at once, as 
he had some skirts and other articles of clothing which he 
wanted to take to the governor's wife. The governor replied 
that he did not want to go then, but would go next day; how- 
ever, in spite of all, he was obliged against his will to take 
Leon to his house. 

1 This was on the 18th, after six days march from the Colorado. Meantime 
they had crossed the Colorado or Espiritu Santo (Brazos). The governor was 
met less than nine and a half leagues west of the Trinity River (Itinerary). 

2 On San Pedro Creek, just northwest of Weches and some six or eight miles 
west of the Neches River. See Bolton, ''Native Tribes about the East Texas 
Missions," in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, XL 249-276; also 
Bolton, in Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, II., under "Nabedache." 

3 Kidney-beans. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 377 

On the next day the governor said that he wished to take 
us home with him, and that we might live in his house, in 
which, he said, there was room for all. After dinner we, the 
priests, discussed what should be our conduct on visiting the 
governor's, and whether it would be advisable to stay there. 
My opinion was that we four priests should go on foot, carry- 
ing our staffs, which bore a holy crucifix, and singing the 
Litany of Our Lady, and that a lay-brother who was with us 
should carry in front a picture on linen of the Blessed Virgin, 
bearing it high on his lance, after the fashion of a banner. 

We set out in this manner for the governor's house from 
the place where we had stopped, and this pious conduct proved 
so blessed that, although it had rained heavily, and the water 
stood high all along the road where we had to pass, so high, 
indeed, that for the greater part of the way it came nearly to 
our knees, yet our fervor was such that we paid no attention 
to the water. Following the example given, some of the sol- 
diers who were walking through the water became animated 
with such zeal and ardor that they could not keep back tears 
of joy and gladness. Among these who thus especially exerted 
themselves, giving no heed to the water or to the mud, were 
Captain Francisco Martinez, Don Gregorio Salinas, and others. 
The rest, some twenty soldiers, were on horseback, and Cap- 
tain Alonso de Leon was with them; we who walked were in 
their midst. 

We came to the governor's house, where we found a num- 
ber of Indians — men, women, and children. Kneeling, we 
concluded the Litany, and we blessed the house. Soon the 
governor and the other Indians came up to kiss my robe, and 
the former bade us enter, in order to look at his house. The 
house is built of stakes thatched over with grass, it is about 
twenty varas high, is round, and has no windows, daylight 
entering through the door only; this door is like a room-door 
such as we have here. 1 In the middle of the house is the fire, 
which is never extinguished by day or by night, and over the 
door on the inner side there is a little superstructure of rafters 
very prettily arranged. Ranged around one-half of the house, 
inside, are ten beds, which consist of a rug made of reeds, laid 

1 For a description of Hasinai house-building, see Espinosa, Chrdnica, pp. 
420-421. 



378 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

on four forked sticks. Over the rug they spread buffalo skins, 
on which they sleep. At the head and foot of the bed is at- 
tached another carpet forming a sort of arch, which, lined 
with a very brilliantly colored piece of reed matting, makes 
what bears some resemblance to a very pretty alcove. In 
the other half of the house, where there are no beds, there are 
some shelves about two varas high, and on them are ranged 
large round baskets made of reeds (in which they keep their 
corn, nuts, acorns, beans, etc.), a row of very large earthen 
pots like our water jars, these pots being used only to make 
the atole when there is a large crowd on the occasion of some 
ceremony, and six wooden mortars for pounding the corn in 
rainy weather (for, when it is fair, they grind it in the court- 
yard). 

After a little while they brought out to each of us in the 
patio 1 a small wooden bench very skilfully fashioned, and 
after we had been through the house we sat down there, for 
the patio was bright and cool. Then they brought us a lunch 
consisting of the tamales they make, with nuts, pinole of corn, 
very well prepared, a large crock full of corn cooked with 
frijoles, and ground-nuts. Soon I noticed, outside the patio, 
opposite the door of the governor's house, another long build- 
ing, and no one lived in it. I asked who dwelt therein or what 
purpose it served, and was told that the captains were lodged 
in that house when the governor called them to a meeting. 
On the other side I saw yet another and smaller vacant house, 
and upon my inquiring about this one they answered that in 
the smallest house the pages of the captains were lodged, for the 
law provides that each captain shall bring his page when 
the governor assembles the captains, according to the custom 
which they observe. As soon as they arrive they are lodged 
in that house, and for each one is laid a large, brightly colored 
reed mat, on which they sleep, with a bolster made of painted 
reeds at the head; and when they return home each one 
carries with him his mat and pillow. While they attend the 
meeting the governor provides them with food, until he sends 
them home. 

The following are the domestic arrangements in the gov- 
ernor's house: each week ten Indian women undertake the 

1 Patio, an open quadrangle round which the rooms of a house are ranged. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 379 

house-work; each day at sunrise these women come laden 
with firewood, sweep out the patio and the house, carry water 
from the arroyo at some distance — (for this water is very good, 
and though the river is close by, its water is not as good as 
that of the arroyo) — and grind corn for the atole, tamales, and 
pinole. Each one of the women goes home for the night, re- 
turning next morning. In the governor's house I saw a little 
wooden bench in front of the fire, and the Indians admonished 
me not to sit upon it, lest I should die. I was curious to learn 
what mystery there was connected with it, and they told me 
that no one but their lord, the governor, might sit upon that 
stool. 

As to whether the priests should five in the governor's 
house, it seemed to me unadvisable that they should do so, 
on account of the number of Indians, men and women, who 
went in and out at all times. Using the Frenchman as an 
interpreter I told the governor with many kind expressions 
that his house was very fine, and that I heartily appreciated 
his desire to have the priests in his household, but that since 
we had to build a house for the celebration of masses, it might 
be well to build likewise a dwelling for the priests, because they 
must needs live near the church. Thereupon the governor 
said that we should build the house in the most suitable place, 
that he would show us the village, and that I might choose 
the spot. We agreed to visit the village on the following day 
in order to look for a favorable location for the church and the 
priests' dwelling; accordingly next day we went with the gov- 
ernor, who took us to the place the French had selected for 
their settlement, pleasantly and favorably situated on the 
riverbanks. 1 We did not locate the convent there because 
it was so far out of the way of the Indians. Just at that spot 
they showed us two dead bodies of Frenchmen who had shot 
each other with carbines. All this day we were unable to 
find a place which suited me. 

The next morning I went out with Captain Alonso de 
Leon a little way, and found a delightful spot close to the 

1 According to the Itinerary, on May 24 a temporary chapel was built; 
on the 25th possession taken, obedience rendered, and ecclesiastical possession 
given to Massanet ; on the 26th De Leon and the missionaries looked for a per- 
manent site, reaching the Neches River. 



380 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

brook, fine woods, with plum trees like those in Spain. And 
soon afterwards, on the same day, they began to fell trees and 
cart the wood, and within three days we had a roomy dwelling 
and a church wherein to say mass with all propriety. We 
set in front of the church a very high cross of carved wood. 1 

On the feast of Corpus Christi mass was sung, and before 
mass we had a procession with the holy sacrament exposed, 
a large concourse of Indians being assembled, for we had no- 
tified them the day before. The soldiers had been given leave 
to fire as many salutes as they could during the procession, 
at the elevation, and at the close of mass, and by the will of 
the Divine Majesty we celebrated in that solitude a memora- 
ble feast, which was rendered a source of great consolation 
by our being able to carry the blessed sacrament exposed and 
to walk in procession as Christian Catholics are wont to do. 
After mass we hoisted in the name of His Majesty the royal 
standard bearing on one side the picture of Christ crucified, 
and on the other that of the Virgin of Guadalupe. A royal 
salute was fired, and we sang the Te Deum Laudamus in 
thanksgiving. 

These Tejas Indians have always had among them an 
old Indian who was their minister, and presented their offer- 
ings to God. They observed the custom never to taste any 
eatable without first taking a portion of it to their minister 
for sacrifice ; they did this with the products of their lands — 
as corn, beans, watermelons, and squashes — as well as with 
the buffalo meat they obtained by hunting. This minister 
had a house reserved for the sacrifices, and they entered 
therein very reverentially, particularly during a sacrifice. 
They never sacrificed to idols, but only to Him of whom they 
said that He has all power and that from Him come all things, 
who is recognized as first cause. 

The captains as well as the governor himself all treat this 
minister with much consideration, and in order to induce him 
to visit us, as well as to avoid hurting his feelings, the governor 
sent out the captains with orders to do honor to the Indian 
priest and bring him with them. They went, and during the 
three days and nights they entertained him with songs and 

1 It was located in the middle of the village. From the 27th to the 31st 
was spent in building the church and the dwelling (Itinerary). 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 381 

dances, as is their custom, and then they returned home, 
bringing him. 1 They arrived at noon, just as we were about 
to have dinner. Since I was eager to see the ceremonies of 
these people, I suggested that we should wait for that priest 
of theirs and ask him to eat at our table. He came, advanc- 
ing slowly, and bearing himself with much dignity, and with 
him was a crowd of Indians, men, women, and children. He 
appeared extremely serious and reserved, and as soon as he 
reached the place where we were the governor bade him kiss 
our robe. This he did, and when we sat down to dinner I 
asked the governor to let our visitor sit by his side. 

When the Indian priest took his first mouthful, instead 
of asking a blessing, he made with the food, as he took it out 
of the dish, a sign like that of the cross, pointing, as it were, 
to the four winds, or cardinal points. After dinner we gave 
him clothing for himself and his wife, and he was well pleased. 

Later we were told by an Indian who was then with the 
Tejas but came from the country beyond — from Coahuila — 
and who spoke Mexican, that the above-mentioned priest of 
the Tejas had told all the captains and other Tejas, "Now 
you will no longer heed me, for these priests who have come 
to you are the true priests of Ayimat Caddi" — which name 
signifies, in their language, "The Great Captain." This was 
the name he gave to God, for since the only rank or title they 
know is that of captain, they call "Great Captain" him whom 
they consider as great above all things. Similarly, in order 
to give the governor a distinguishing name other than that of 
captain, since there are other captains, they call him desza, 
which means "Great Lord and superior to all." 

When the church and the dwelling intended for the priests 
had been finished they carried into these buildings all that was 
to be left for the priests, and on the morning of the first of 
June, the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi, we consecrated 
the church and celebrated mass, after which the Te Deum 
Laudamus was sung in thanksgiving, the soldiers firing a royal 
salute. The church and village were dedicated to our Holy 
Father St. Francis. 

After dinner on the same day our company left the place, 

1 The "minister" was the Great Xinesi. His chief temple was on the Ange- 
lina River. 



382 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

to return hither, but I remained until the next day. 1 When 
I left the place I called the governor, bidding him remember 
that he must take care of the fathers who remained there and 
try to cause his people to respect them and to receive the 
Christian doctrine. I told him the fathers would not take 
anything away from them, nor ask them for anything, but 
rather help them whenever they were able. And the governor 
said, "I shall take care of the fathers, so that, when you re- 
turn, they will have no complaint to bring against me ; they 
are perfectly safe, and may remain." I then told him that 
I should be gratified if his brother and some other one of his 
relatives would come with me to visit our country and bring 
back numerous presents for those who remained at home, and 
that our great captain the viceroy was anxious to see them and 
entertained very kindly feeling towards them. The governor 
then replied that his brother with two other relatives and a 
nephew of his would accompany me, and he thus admonished 
me, "Do not permit anyone to demand service from these 
men whom you take with you, nor to make them work." 
From these words of his it is evident that they have among 
them the idea of rank, and that they distinguished their nobles 
from the mass of the people. 

From the time of our arrival at the Tejas village until we 
left I took note of some things and gained experience concern- 
ing some men whose conduct proved so different from what 
it had seemed to be when we were on the road, that I hardly 
knew them for the same persons after we were in the village. 
Evidently some of them thought that they were to be made 
rulers of the Tejas, and forgot His Excellency's express orders 
concerning the journey, which orders provided that Captain 
Alonso de Leon should go as commander of the expedition to 
find out whether there were any Frenchmen in that region, 
and that Leon and his men should escort thither the priests 
who accompanied Fray Damian Manzanet. If the Tejas 
asked for priests and desired baptism, the priests were to re- 
main there. And if the Tejas proved quite friendly and no 
danger was to be expected at their hands, no large garrison 
was to be left behind; if, on the other hand, they proved 
troublesome, as many soldiers should remain as seemed need- 

1 So also did Governor De Leon and six soldiers. 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 383 

ful, according to the advice and with the consent of Father 
Fray Damian Manzanet. It was at no time necessary for 
the safety of the priests to leave soldiers among the Tejas, 
for from the very first they welcomed us with so much affec- 
tion and good will, that they could hardly do enough to 
please us. Yet, in the face of all this, Captain Alonso de 
Leon made arrangements to leave fifty men, under the com- 
mand of Captain Nicolas Prietto, an incapable and undeserv- 
ing old man. 

When the time came, the captain told me of his purpose 
in a private interview, and I replied : "You are under orders 
from His Excellency, and if you mean to consult with me, the 
consultation must not take place in private ; call your captains 
and in their presence and in that of the priests state what you 
wish to offer for consideration." This reply deeply wounded 
Leon, for his passions had blinded him. He called the cap- 
tains, and I called the priests, and Captain Alonso de Leon 
told us that he had planned to leave for the protection of the 
priests forty or fifty soldiers under a leader, and that he was 
holding this consultation because His Excellency had ordered 
that, if the soldiers were to be left, it should be with my con- 
sent. To this I replied that there was no necessity at all to 
leave a military force in the district, since the people were so 
peaceable and so friendly. In case the priests should need 
assistance, I requested that three soldiers whom I thought fit 
for the position should stay there. If he chose to leave a 
greater number, well and good ; but with no consent of mine, 
for I did not wish more than three to remain. Leon was much 
taken aback on account of what he had planned and discussed 
with his compadre 1 Captain Nicolas Prietto, who was to remain 
as leader of the forty or fifty soldiers. However, in the end, 
it was arranged that the three soldiers recommended by me 
should remain there. They were willing to do so, and were 
quite content. They belonged to the Zacatecas company. 
Leon left for the soldiers nine of the king's horses, firelocks, a 
barrel of powder and some shot, and for the priests he left 
twenty-six loads of flour, twenty cows, two yoke of oxen, 
ploughs with ploughshares, axes, spades, and other little 
necessaries. 

1 Intimate friend, or a person related by the tie of godfather. 



384 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

On the 2d of June we took our departure, and the priests 
walked with us a little way out of the village. Then we took 
leave of one another with many tears of joy and gladness, for 
these men did not sorrow at being left behind, 1 nay, rather, 
they gave thanks to God for having merited such a grace as 
to be called to save the souls of the heathen. We arrived at 
the Trinity on the 3d of June, and found this river very high. 
On this account we were kept for a week from crossing. Mean- 
while the governor's brother was taken ill and went home. 
After a week they made a raft of logs, on which the packs, 
the clothing, and all other baggage were taken across, while 
the horses were driven through swimming, some few getting 
drowned. 2 

We followed the road by which we had come, until we 
reached the rancheria of the Emat, Toaa, Too, Cavas, and 
other Indians, and in this rancheria we heard that the Indians 
on the coast had captured some young Frenchmen. The cap- 
tain of the rancheria told us that although they themselves 
were at feud with the Indians on the coast, yet there was 
among them an Indian who held intercourse with those others, 
and if some of us desired to go and find them, this Indian 
would take those who wished to go. Captain Leon decided 
to go with twenty men for the purpose of trying to rescue the 
said young Frenchmen. They reached the coast of the bay 
and found the Indians whom they sought. 3 These had just 
arrived from some other portion of the same coast, armed with 
lances, and soon our people began to treat with them, about 
delivering up the young Frenchmen. The Indians were prom- 
ised horses and clothing if they would give up the boys, and 
their reply was that they would do so promptly, and very 
willingly. The soldiers then began to enter the ranchitos* of 
the Indians, peering with too much curiosity into their be- 
longings, and committing other acts so that the Indians be- 
came resentful against the soldiers and distrustful of them 
when they found out who was guilty. 5 Later, all being gath- 

1 The missionaries are named on p. 368, above. 

2 The crossing was effected on the 11th. 

3 They were found far south of the Garcitas River, on the coast of Mata- 
gorda Bay. See Itinerary, p. 420, below. 

4 Huts. 6 De Leon places all the blame on the Indians (Itinerary). 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 385 

ered together after the French boys had been delivered over 
to our men, the Indians commenced to shoot arrows among 
the soldiers. Two arrows struck Captain Leon in the side, 
but as he wore mail, they did not penetrate ; also, the horses 
were shot down under two other soldiers. There were four 
Indians killed and two wounded, and our men took the young 
Frenchmen and returned to the main body of the army, which 
was waiting by the Guadalupe River. 1 

We returned by the way we had come, and, arriving at 
the Rio del Norte, 2 found it so high that we were kept from 
crossing for 18 3 days, and when we did get across it was by 
swimming, at great peril to our lives. The river current car- 
ried off many articles of clothing as well as horses, and one 
soldier, who bore among his comrades the ill name of Judas, 
was drowned. This man had the reputation of being likely 
to appropriate what belonged to other people, and on the 
morning of the day he was drowned he returned to one of the 
mule drivers a boiler he had stolen, saying, "Forgive me, 
friend, for I stole this boiler from you." And when he entered 
the river to cross, he said, "Let us hurry in, for this is the last 
time." When he was in the middle of the river he disappeared 
— he, the horse, and all he was carrying, and he was never 
again seen. Just at the time when he disappeared there arose 
a high wind which terrified us, and the waters of the river grew 
so angry that they seemed about to leave their bed. 

There were some points of which I took special note on 
this journey. First, in the preceding year we had everywhere 
found Indians, while in the year '90 we saw not a single one, 
until we inspected the bay of Espiritu Santo and entered the 
land of the Tejas. 

Secondly, in the year before the soldiers all behaved in a 
peaceable, orderly manner, performing their duties faithfully, 
so that there was no disorder on the march, and no loss of 
horses. But in this year '90 there hardly passed a day with- 
out some one fighting or else the officers stabbing soldiers, so 

1 De Leon crossed the Guadalupe on the 24th (Itinerary). 

2 On July 4. The circumstances of the crossing are stated in note to the 
Itinerary of 1690, p. 423, below. 

3 Father Massanet is in error. See note to De Leon's Itinerary of 1690, p. 
422. 



386 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

that a lay-brother who had come with me was generally kept 
busy tending the wounded. He treated them with tepid 
wine, which is, they say, an excellent cure for stabs in the head. 

Thirdly, I noted that there were so many horses and mules 
that the laden mules were not missed until some article con- 
tained in their pack was needed. As to the number of horses, 
it was never known to the officers. 

Fourthly, Captain Leon had a compadre along, Captain 
So-and-So, so honorable that he never failed to play the tale- 
bearer and excite quarrels; so kind-hearted that only his 
friend Leon drank chocolate, and the others the lukewarm 
water; so considerate of others that he got up early in the 
morning to drink chocolate, and would afterward drink again 
with the rest ; so vigilant that he would keep awake and go 
at midnight to steal the chocolate out of the boxes : perhaps 
this vigilance was the reason why, while, by order of His Ex- 
cellency, Captain Leon should have left for the priests three 
hundredweight of chocolate and the same quantity of sugar, 
he left only one and one-half hundredweight of each. 

This same compadre is so smooth-tongued that he told me 
once : "In truth, in truth, since the time of Cortes there has 
not been in the Indies another man who can be compared 
with my compadre General Alonso de Leon." This aforesaid 
compadre is so compassionate towards the Indians that be- 
cause he saw how poor they were, and that their only clothing 
was the skins of antelopes and buffaloes, he endeavored to 
give them in secret the articles which His Excellency had sent 
for them — e. g., blankets, flannel, cloth and knives — but the 
compadre so arranged the almsgiving, by first robbing the 
Indians of what they had, that his gifts were equal to about 
one-fourth of what he took. 

Fifthly, when the Indians brought some complaints against 
the soldiers for entering their houses, Captain Leon never at- 
tempted to remedy things at all. In one particular case, when 
the brother of the governor of the Tejas came to us, complain- 
ing that a rape had been attempted on his wife, I asked Cap- 
tain Leon how he could tolerate such misdeeds. I urged that 
conduct like this, which would not be tolerated even among 
the Moors or heretics, should be the more severely reproved 
because we had come among these heathen people in order to 



1690] LETTER OF FATHER MASSANET 387 

give an example of right living. Leon did not say a word — 
perhaps because he feared exposure. 

For lack of more time I shall now only add what is the 
most noteworthy thing of all, namely this : While we were at 
the Tejas village, after we had distributed clothing to the 
Indians and to the governor of the Tejas, the said governor 
asked me one evening for a piece of blue baize to make a shroud 
in which to bury his mother when she died. I told him that 
cloth would be more suitable, and he answered that he did not 
want any color other than blue. I then asked him what mys- 
tery was attached to the blue color, and he said that they 
were very fond of that color, particularly for burial clothes, 
because in times past they had been visited frequently by a 
very beautiful woman, who used to come down from the 
heights, dressed in blue garments, and that they wished to be 
like that woman. On my asking whether that had been long 
since, the governor said it had been before his time, but his 
mother, who was aged, had seen that woman, as had also the 
other old people. From this it is easily to be seen that they 
referred to the Madre Maria de Jesus de Agreda, who was 
very frequently in those regions, as she herself acknowledged 
to the father custodian of New Mexico, her last visit having 
been made in 1631, this last fact being evident from her own 
statement, made to the said father custodian of New Mexico. 1 

1 See p. 354, note 4. 



ITINERARY OF THE DE LEON EXPEDITION 

OF 1689 1 

Itinerary of the Expedition made by General Alonso De Ledn 
for the Discovery of the Bahia del Espiritu Santo and the 
French Settlement. 1689. 

March. 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Wednesday, March 23, it was arranged that the detachment 
of soldiers and camp-followers who were in Coahuila should 
set out. Accordingly, they marched one league down the 
river. 1. 

Thursday, the 24th, the whole body set out. The detach- 
ment, being ordered to go down the river, 2 travelled down the 
other bank to its junction with the Nadadores. They trav- 
elled that day seven leagues toward the north. 3 All this 
country is uninhabitable. 7. 

Friday, the 25th, we travelled down the Rio de Nadadores, 
along the south bank, between two ridges which they call 
Baluartes. On the bank of the river we passed a cotton wood 
tree, 4 the only one within a great distance. We travelled 
that day seven leagues, keeping the same northeast course. 
All the country is level and affords good pasturage. 7. 

Saturday, the 26th, we travelled down the river as on the 
day before, to its junction with the Sabinas. We travelled 
east, halting a league from the junction. The country is level 
and affords good pasturage. 5 [6]. 

1 Translation by Miss Elizabeth Howard West, in Texas State Historical 
Association Quarterly, VIII. 199-224. 

2 They crossed to the south side, and followed the right bank to a point 
three leagues below the junction with the Sabinas (Miss West). See the Sigiienza 
map. 

3 The Sigiienza map gives the distance as seven leagues (Miss West). 

4 The Alamo became a well-known landmark and was regularly noted in 
later diaries. 

6 The Sigiienza map supplies the distance lacking in the Memorias tran- 
script of the diary. 

388 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 389 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Sunday, the 27th, we went down the river Sabinas and 
crossed it toward the north. Passing along the bank we 
sighted the soldiers who were coming from the Nuevo Reyno 
de Leon to join us here according to agreement. 1 As we came 
together a salute was fired on each side. After we had trav- 
elled three leagues to the east, a general review and individual 
count was made of all the soldiers, drivers, and other servants, 
and of the baggage as well. 2 3. 

Monday, the 28th, we travelled to the northeast, a distance 
of six leagues. After crossing some unwatered plains, we 
halted at a pool of rain-water. 6. 

Tuesday, the 29th, we set out toward the northeast. Be- 
fore daybreak the French prisoner sent out one of the Indians 
whom we were bringing because of their loyalty, to tell the 
Indians, his acquaintances, that we were going through their 
village. As a result, more than seventy Indians, some armed, 
others unarmed, came out to meet us a league before we ar- 
rived at the village, and accompanied us thither. They had 
a hut ready, covered with buffalo hides ; there they put the 
Frenchman, toward whom they made many demonstrations 
of affection. 3 In front of the hut was driven a stake, four 
varas high, on which were fastened sixteen heads of Indians, 
their enemies, whom they had killed. They were five nations, 
joined together (according to the account the Frenchman 
gave), entitled Hapes, Jumenes, Xiabu, Mescale, and another. 
We counted eighty-five huts. We distributed among them 
some cotton garments, blankets, beads, rosaries, knives, and 
arms, with which they were very much pleased. Five cattle 
were killed for them, too, so that all persons of all ages might 

1 The party from Monterey went down the Caldera River (De Leon, His- 
toria de Nuevo Leon, p. 319). 

2 The original list is printed in De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, pp. 320- 
321. It shows eighty-eight soldiers and religious, the French prisoner, called 
Andres, twelve muleteers, thirteen servants, seven hundred and twenty horses 
and mules, eighty-two pack-loads of flour, biscuits, and other provisions, and 
three pack-loads of presents for the Indians. See ibid., p. 318, and Massanet's 
Letter, p. 353. 

3 The Indians at this point are referred to in the diary of 1690 as "the In- 
dians of the Frenchman." In De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 322, the names 
are given as the Apes, Mescales, Jumanes, and Ijiaba. 



390 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

eat. There were four hundred and ninety of them. We 
crossed a creek about the time of evening prayer. 1 4. 

Thursday, the 31st, it was necessary to halt at this point 
because of the suffering of the horses occasioned by lack of 
water. 

April. 

Friday, April 1st, we travelled down the river five leagues, 
traversing some low hills. There was no lack of water-holes 
along the way. The route during the most of these five 
leagues was toward the north. We halted on this south bank 
in front of the ford. 2 The river was forded, and found easy 
to cross the next day. Now we had with us a faithful Indian 
guide, 3 who assured us that he knew the country, and that 
he would bring us where there were some men like ourselves, 
in a settlement of six or seven houses; that they had wives 
and children, and that they were about six days' journey 
distant from the said Rio Bravo. This Indian can not speak 
Castilian, but we got some light on what he was saying 
through another Indian who acted as interpreter, albeit a 
poor one. 5. 

Saturday, the 2d, we crossed the river and went about 
one league north, to avoid some ravines and low hills. After- 
ward we went mostly northeast, until we reached some pools, 
five leagues away. We named these El Paraje de los Cuervos, 
because more than three thousand crows appeared at night- 
fall. The way was level and untimbered. 5. 

Palm Sunday, the 3d, we marched northeast three leagues, 
through level country, and afterward two more through sev- 
eral thickets of mesquite. We crossed some little dry creeks ; 
and then we came upon one that had water in it, on the bank 

1 The Sigiienza map gives a journey of four leagues for March 30, which is 
omitted entirely from the Memorias copy of the diary. From a comparison of 
distances between the Sabinas and the Rio Grande with the diary and map of 
1690, it seems probable that the map is correct. The 1689 map gives the distance 
as twenty-three and the diary of 1690 as twenty-two leagues. 

2 Of the Rio Bravo. See De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 324. The 
crossing was not far from San Juan Bautista. 

3 The Querns. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 391 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

of which we halted. Altogether we travelled that day five 
long leagues. We named this creek the Arroyo de Ramos, 1 
because we found it on Palm Sunday. There we observed 
the altitude of the sun with an astrolabe, though a defective 
one, and found our latitude to be 26° 31/. 2 I must call atten- 
tion to the fact that the tables on which this observation was 
based were made before the so-called Gregorian correction. 
This correction was made in the year 1582, in which the equi- 
nox was on the tenth of March. Following the Ephemerides of 
the Roman Andrea Argoli, which places the equinox this year 
(1582) on the 20th of March, we found by these tables that 
today, April 3, corresponds to the 24th of March of this year 
(1689), which is the first since the bissextile. These tables, 
the author says, he took from the Arte de Navegar, by the Maes- 
tro Medina. 3 It has been necessary to state these facts in 
explanation, in case it should appear that a mistake has been 
made because of our lack of modern tables. 5, 

Holy Monday, the 4th, we marched northeast most of 
the day, east-by-north occasionally, a distance of 8 leagues. 
At first the land was level, then there was a little mesquite 
thicket ; and after that we got into a larger one, three leagues 
long. We came upon a river, which, as we could see, even 
though it contained little water at the time, overflows its 
banks in time of rain more than half a league from the main 
channel. We called it the Rio de las Nueces, 4 because there 
were many pecan trees. It is somewhat rocky, and all its 
rocks are flint and very fine. 8. 

Holy Tuesday, the 5th, we crossed the river. We had to 
go half a league down its bank, and then we went through a 
glade. Then came a very dense thicket. We had to cut a 
passage into it for almost a league with our cutlasses and axes, 

1 Evidently one of the branches of the Nueces River. 

2 As pointed out by Miss West, the calculations were a degree or more in 
error. 

3 Pedro Medina's Arte de Navegar was first published at Valladolid in 1545. 
The Italian astronomer Andrea Argoli's Ephemerides was first published at 
Rome in 1621. 

4 The present Nueces, and not that which figured in the Spanish expeditions 
to the Jumanos. The 1690 diary and map mention Arroyo de Caramanchel be- 
tween Arroyo de Ramos and the Nueces River. 



392 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

because of the numerous prickly pears and mesquite which 
blocked up the way. Afterward we got into a mesquite 
thicket in which at intervals we had to make a clearing. We 
travelled about seven leagues. We came upon a river to which 
we gave the name Rio Sarco, 1 because its water was blue. 
We went, I repeat, seven leagues, with many turns. 7. 

Holy Wednesday, the 6th, we travelled about three leagues 
to the northeast, and two to the east. The country we passed 
through was level, with fine pasturage, with very pleasant 
glades, and, occasionally, little motts of oak. We came to a 
river, which we named Rio Hondo. Apropos of this river, 
its descent on each side is about forty feet ; near it, on both 
banks, are some insignificant hills, some of them timbered. 
The water was plentiful, so that the horses were easily sup- 
plied. As we went down toward the river we found some large 
white rocks, on some of which we saw some crosses cut, and 
other figures artificially made with great skill, apparently a 
long time before. 5. 

Holy Thursday, the 7th, we went more than four leagues 
down the river without crossing it, sometimes east, sometimes 
southeast ; we halted on the hither bank. The country is of 
the same sort here as at the last stopping-place ; level, for the 
most part, though there is a little mesquite timber. Ever 
since the thirtieth of last month, when we passed the village 
of the Five Nations, 2 we have found along the line of march 
traces of Indians, made some time ago; but not a single 
Indian has appeared. 

Holy Friday, the 8th, we crossed from the other bank of 
the Rio Hondo, and travelled east-northeast, most of the 
day near the river. We came upon two ravines near together. 
Here, it appears, the river rises in time of flood as much as 
six feet. After the ravines comes a little creek in a thicket. 
Here it was necessary to change our course for a while, to let 
the loaded mules cross, which they did with difficulty, some 
bogging up. After crossing this creek, we came to some very 
level land, and then to a large mesquite thicket. In the 

1 Elsewhere called the Rio Frio, with which Clark identifies it (The Begin- 
nings of Texas, p. 17). 

2 See the entry for the 29th of March. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 393 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

midst of the thicket were some pools of water, where we 
halted. We travelled that day eight long leagues, to the east, 
as has already been said. 8. 

Holy Saturday, the 9th, we set out to the north, but on 
account of some thickets that were in the way, it was neces- 
sary to make some turns, sometimes north-by-east, some- 
times north-northeast. We travelled that day five leagues. 
The land was very good. We crossed a dry creek that day, 
but a league farther on we found one with good water, with 
abundant pasturage and many oak-trees near by. We named 
this creek Arroyo del Vino, because we opened a cask 1 that 
day and divided its contents among the men. Under the trees 
we found well-grown nuts, as large as those of Spain, but very 
hard to open. We saw many wild grape-vines, whose fruit, 
as we were told by the Indians we had brought with us, is in 
its season very pleasantly flavored. Our horses stampeded 
at this camp about nine o'clock at night, and they could not 
be stopped, though fifteen soldiers were on guard. Accord- 
ing to the count made the following day, one hundred and 
two got away. 5. 

Easter Sunday, the 10th, soldiers set out in different di- 
rections to look for the horses, which they found at various 
points. This search detained them till evening prayer, 2 
therefore the camp was not moved that day. We made a 
reckoning of our latitude which we found to be 27° 55'. 

Monday after Easter, the 11th, we set out to the east. 
We crossed two creeks of good water, and immediately after 
came to a great wood of pecan and oak-trees, more than five 
leagues in extent, all fertile and pleasant land. After having 
to travel twelve leagues to get water, we came that day upon 
a river, which was very large, though it had not much water, 
and which had a good ford. We named it the Rio de Medina. 
The descent to it is about fifty or sixty feet. All the rest of 
the way there were oaks and pecans. The course that day 
was east half the way, and northeast half the way. 12. 

Tuesday after Easter, the 12th, we crossed the river, and 
found the ford very easy. We travelled five leagues to the 
east, over some low hills, without any timber; we crossed 

1 Of wine. 2 Vespers, would be a better rendering. 



394 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 
BATE. LEAGUES. 

some ravines of red and yellow earth ; we entered a mesquite 
thicket, and found water in a creek. The creek was dry 
where we first struck it, and we were somewhat discomfited 
because we thought our guide had mistaken the direction; 
about a league farther, however, there was a very good stream. 
We named this creek the Arroyo del Leon, 1 because we found 
a dead Hon near by, very much mutilated. The country was 
level, and furnished good pasturage. 5. 

Wednesday, the 13th, we advanced to the east, sometimes 
east-northeast, six leagues. About half a league from the 
camp we passed by the point of a little hill on which ends a 
clump of oaks, and which we left on the right hand. Among 
them were small piles of stones placed by hand. We followed 
some low hills ; there were about two leagues of oak timber 
which had to be partly cleared away ; but after this all the 
country was level till we reached a little creek. 6. 

Thursday, the 14th, we moved forward, east-northeast, in 
search of a great river which the guide told us we should find 
and which we reached at two in the afternoon. We travelled 
six leagues, the first three over some hills, and the rest of the 
way over some hills that were timbered and marked with 
ravines. It was necessary in some places to clear away the 
timber so as to pass through. The country was the most 
pleasant that we had traversed ; the river is not very full and 
has a good ford ; its banks are covered with timber. Six 
buffaloes — the first we had seen for a hundred leagues — were 
killed along the way. We gave this river the name of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe, whom we had brought from Coahuila as 
our protectress, 2 and whom we had painted on our royal 
standard. 6. 

Friday, the 15th, the day dawned very rainy. None the 
less, however, our whole party set out toward the ford of the 
river, which was about a league away. We crossed the river, 
but as the water prevented our forward movement, we halted 

1 Apparently the present San Antonio River. The name Medina now ap- 
plies to only the upper waters of the stream (see Clark, The Beginnings of Texas, 
p. 17). 

2 That is, they carried her statue or picture. The river was crossed not 
far from Victoria, perhaps a little below it. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 395 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

on a little creek. We travelled that day not more than two 
leagues. As the guide said that we were near the settlement, 
a council of war was held, at which it was decided that the 
next day a reconnaissance should be made with sixty soldiers, 
while the camp should stay in another place at some distance 
away, with a sufficient guard. 2. 

Saturday, the 16th, after a mass to Our Lady of Guadalupe 
had been chanted with all solemnity, the governor, in accor- 
dance with the decision of the day before, set out with the 
sixty soldiers, well equipped. The whole force set out at the 
same time. After travelling about three leagues with the sixty 
men, the rear-guard caught sight of an Indian in the tim- 
ber. When he was taken to the governor and examined — 
through a poor interpreter — he declared that his rancheria was 
near by, and that four Frenchmen were there. We quick- 
ened our pace, under the guidance of our Indian, after we had 
sent word to the main body to stay in the place whence they 
had sent the Indian. Before we came to the rancheria all 
the people left. We sighted them, however, as they were 
entering some motts ; and after them came eight or ten dogs 
loaded with buffalo hides. We sent the same Indian who 
had guided us to call them, with the result that most of them 
came. It was ascertained that the four Frenchmen were 
not there, but that they had gone on to the Tejas four days 
before. In this rancheria we found two Indians who told 
us that we should find them in a rancheria two days' jour- 
ney further. We gave these Indians some tobacco, knives, 
and other things, to get them to guide us, which they did. 
We turned and moved northward till sunset. Then we found 
in a thicket a village of more than two hundred and fifty per- 
sons, where we tried to find the Frenchmen, our French guide 
always serving as interpreter. They replied that the French- 
men had gone to the Texas Indians four days before, and that 
the rest who had settled on the little sea (which is the bay) had 
all died at the hands of the coast Indians ; that the French- 
men had six houses ; and that the event had occurred three 
moons, that is, three months, before ; that previous to this 
there had been an epidemic of smallpox, of which most of them 
had died. The main body travelled east that day, and halted 



396 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

at the place appointed by the governor, who went eight 
leagues northward with the sixty men. 8. 

Sunday, the 17th, after sleeping close by the Indian village, 
we again set out to the north. After travelling five leagues 
we found some ranchos 1 of Indians known to our French 
prisoner. We found out from them by minute inquiry the 
route of the four Frenchmen who were going to the Texas; 
we found out, moreover, that they had passed on horseback 
four days before. Here a consultation was held as to what 
decision should be reached, with the result that it was deter- 
mined, as the main force was far away and the country un- 
known, to write a letter to the Frenchmen and send it to them 
by an Indian. Accordingly, the letter was written in French 
by the royal dlferez, Francisco Martinez. Its contents, in 
substance, were as follows : that we had been informed of 
their escape when some Christians on the coast had been killed 
by the Indians of that vicinity; that they might come with 
us; that we would wait for them three or four days in the 
houses of the village from which they had set out. This letter 
was signed by the governor and by our chaplain, Padre Fray 
Damian Manzanet, religious of our patron San Francisco. 
The letter added as a postscript some lines of Latin, in case 
any one of the four should be a religious, exhorting them to 
come. Putting in paper for a reply, we dispatched this letter 
by an Indian carrier who assured us that he would overtake 
them. About evening prayer 2 an Indian came from the North 
to see the Frenchmen, of whom he must have had news. 
When we asked him through the Frenchman whether it was 
far from here to the Texas, he replied that it was not many 
days' journey and said that it had been three days since the 
four Frenchmen had gone on from his rancheria. 

Monday, the 18th, in view of the harm the camp might 
have suffered, even though we had left it well guarded, we 
set out in search of it. On the way thither the governor re- 
ceived a letter stating that the drove of horses had stampeded 
the night before, and that a hundred-odd had been lost ; that 
some had been found, but thirty-six were still missing. At 
this we quickened our pace to the camp. There we heard 

1 Houses or huts. 2 Vespers. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 397 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

also that a soldier 1 had been lost in the search for the horses. 
At this news sundry squadrons of soldiers were sent in search 
of him, but he did not appear that day. 

Tuesday, the 19th, since neither the soldier nor the horses 
had appeared, two squadrons of soldiers set out in different 
directions to look for them; the governor went in person; 
but despite their diligent efforts the lost were not found. 
[The search-party], therefore, slept in the open, to continue 
the search. Indians from different rancherias came to the 
camp that day ; we gave them tobacco and other things, and 
charged them to scour the country in search of the soldier 
and the horses that were missing, promising them due return 
for the service. 

Wednesday, the 20th, the party did not set out, because 
neither soldier nor horses had appeared. The efforts of the 
day before were repeated with new squadrons of soldiers. 
Just after they had left the lost man came, guided by several 
Indians. He said that that night [after he had been lost] he 
had come to an Indian rancheria where he spent the night; 
that he had been undecided whether to stay there, because 
of his suspicion that they were going to kill him, but that he 
had been treated with great kindness. It was no little good 
fortune that he escaped from danger at the hands of so bar- 
barous a race. Though the astrolabe was broken, we righted 
it that day as best we could and made an observation of the 
sun, and found ourselves in latitude 28° 41' north. 2 

Thursday, the 21st, our party advanced sometimes east, 
sometimes east-by-north, sometimes northeast-by-north. Our 
line of march lay through some wide plains which for long 
stretches were treeless. At the end of eight leagues we came 
to a creek of good water. Here the Indian guide told us that 
the settlement was on the bank of this creek 3 and in its 
vicinity. The land was all very pleasing ; and we came across 
many buffalo. 

Friday, the 22d ; as we were near the settlement, our party 

1 His name was Juan de Charles (De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 327). 

2 The Autor Anonimo gives the latitude as 28° 4' (Historia de Nuevo Leon, 
ibid.). 

3 Garcitas River. See Massanet's Carta, p. 361, above, notes 2, 3. 



398 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

set out though the day dawned rainy. Three leagues down 
the creek we found it. Having halted with the forces about 
an arquebus-shot away, we went to see it, and found all the 
houses sacked, all the chests, bottle-cases, and all the rest of 
the settlers' furniture broken ; apparently more than two hun- 
dred books, torn apart and with the rotten leaves scattered 
through the patios — all in French. We noted that the per- 
petrators of this massacre had pulled eveiytliing [the colo- 
nists] had out of their chests, and divided the booty among 
themselves ; and that what they had not cared for they had 
torn to pieces, making a frightful sack of all the French pos- 
sessed ; for besides the evidence involved in our finding every- 
thing in this condition, further proof was found in the fact 
that in the rancherias through which we had passed before 
our arrival at the settlement, we had found in the possession 
of the Indians some French books in very good condition, 
with other articles of very little value. These books were 
recovered and their titles committed to memory. The In- 
dians had done this damage not only to the furnishings, but 
also to the arms, for we found more than a hundred stocks of 
flintlock arquebuses, without locks or barrels. They must 
have carried these off, as was proved by an [arquebus] barrel 
found at some distance from the houses. We found three 
dead bodies scattered over the plain. One of these, from the 
dress that still clung to the bones, appeared to be that of a 
woman. We took the bodies up, chanted mass with the bodies 
present, and buried them. We looked for the other dead bodies 
but could not find them ; whence we supposed that they had 
been thrown into the creek and had been eaten by alligators, 
of which there were many. The principal house of this set- 
tlement is in the form of a fort, made of ship's timber, with 
a second story, also made of ship's timber, and with a slope 
to turn off water. Next to it, without any partition, is another 
apartment, not so strong, which must have served as a chapel 
where mass was said. The other five houses are of stakes, cov- 
ered with mud inside and out; their roofs are covered with 
buffalo-hides. All are quite useless for any defence. In and 
about the fort and the houses were eight pieces of artillery, 
iron, of medium bore, — four or five-pounders, — and three very 
old swivels whose chambers were lacking. Some iron bars 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 399 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

were also found, and some ship's nails, estimated as altogether 
about five hundredweight. Some of the guns were scattered 
over the ground and some were on their broken carriages. 
There were some casks with their heads knocked in and their 
contents spilled out, so that nothing was worth anything. 
Around the building was also some tackle, much the worse 
for wear. The settlement was on a beautiful, level site, so as 
to be capable of defence in any event. On the frame of the 
principal door of the fort was inscribed the date of the settle- 
ment, which was 1684. 1 There are other details which are 
noted in the separate description of the post. 2 The party 
travelled that day three leagues to the east. It appears, 
therefore, that the total distance from the Presidio of Coahuila 
to this settlement is one hundred and thirty-six leagues. 3 

Discovery of Espiritu Santo Bay and its Harbor. 

Saturday, the 23d, we set out with thirty men to recon- 
noitre the bay to the south, trying to follow the creek below 
the settlement. We took the French prisoner for a guide, 
because he had told us he knew the bay and had been all 
over it in a bark. In view of this assurance we let him guide 
us. He did not guide us down the creek, because he said it 
had no crossing. We went [instead] five leagues to the south- 
west ; then, after going around the head-waters of two creeks, 
we went three leagues farther, to the east, when we came upon 
the shore of the bay. Here we slept, as we arrived at twilight. 

Sunday, the 24th, very early in the morning, we set out 
along the shore of the bay, which at that season was at low 
water. There are many lagoons of salt water around it whose 
marshes prevented us at some places from crossing on horse- 
back. For long stretches, therefore, we went on foot, leading 

1 See a drawing of the fort and of the inscription in De Leon, Historia de 
Nuevo Leon, pp. 330-331. Additional details are given there. See also De Leon's 
letter of May 18. 

2 From this it is inferred that a special description of the French settlement 
was contained in the autos drawn up by De Leon. 

3 The distances given by the map total one hundred and thirty-seven leagues; 
those of the Itinerary one hundred and nineteen, some being omitted. (Miss 
West.) 



400 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

the horses. The arm of the sea which appeared to us the long- 
est runs in toward the north, another smaller one to the south, 
and the other, the smallest, toward the settlement mentioned 
in this diary. 

We went eight long leagues along the shore, till it pleased 
God that we should discover the mouth, through which one 
enters the bay. This was probably about two leagues from 
the place we could reach on horseback. We were greatly re- 
joiced at this discovery, in token of which we fired a salute 
with our arquebuses. The Frenchman affirmed that this was 
the mouth of the harbor, through which he had entered when 
he came into these parts with Monsieur Felipe So-and-So. 
The mouth of the harbor, so far as we could judge, is about 
two short leagues across. There is a bar of low land across 
it which is closer to the mainland on the side toward Vera 
Cruz than toward Florida. The Frenchman says that ships 
enter through the narrowest passage. On the south the river 
which we named Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe falls into the 
bay. We did not actually see its mouth, because it was im- 
possible to reach that point ; but we came to that conclusion 
because when we crossed it we saw that it was near the bay, 
and also because the Frenchman made a statement to that 
effect. 1 The arm of the sea which extends inland on the 
north of the bay is so wide that we could not see land on the 
other shore. 2 On the shore of the bay, which we ran for about 
eight leagues, we saw a topmast of a large ship; another — a 
small top-gallant mast, a capstan, some barrel-staves, and 
other timbers, which must have belonged to some ship that 
was lost in the bay or along the coast whose harbor we had 
sighted. 3 After seeing and exploring the mouth of the bay, 
we went back the same way we had come, and we camped for 
the night on the bank of a creek near a little mott. Here 
had been an Indian village, but it had been abandoned for 
some time. We found in the village a book in the French 
language, a broken bottle-case, and other things which gave 

1 As a matter of fact, the Guadalupe River does not flow into Matagorda 
Bay. 

* The reference is to the main body of Matagorda Bay. 

3 These things were the wreckage of L'Aimable and La Belle, two of La 
Salle's vessels. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 401 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

us indications that the Indians of the village had taken part 
in the massacre of the French. In this creek, whose water 
was somewhat brackish, we found two canoes. 1 

On the 25th of April we set out from there and went to the 
camp. There we found 2 an answer to the letter that had 
been written to the Frenchmen who had gone to the Texas. 
The letter, read by the alferez, contained in substance that 
within two days they would come to where we were, for by 
that time they were tired of being among barbarians. There 
was only one signature — that of Juan Larchieverque 3 of Bay- 
onne. It was written with red ochre. The distance trav- 
ersed, in going to reconnoitre the bay and in returning, was 
fifty-two leagues. On that day, Monday, the 25th, the main 
camp remained stationary. 

Discovery of the San Marcos River. 

Tuesday, the 26th, it was decided that the main body 
should set out by the same route we had traversed, because the 
water of the creek is brackish, as has been stated, and the 
horses that drank it became sick. Accordingly, we moved three 
leagues up the creek, and halted in the same place where we 
had stopped in our advance; and then we went on with 
twenty men. 

There was a very large river which the French prisoner 
said was toward the north and flowed into the bay. We 
found it at a distance of about three leagues, 4 and followed 
its bank to where some lagoons form an impediment. It is 
a very large river ; larger, it seemed to us, than the Rio Bravo ; 
so large that a small vessel can navigate it. We determined 
to see its discharge into the bay, even though it should be a 

1 Next year a place in this vicinity was called "Arroyo de las Canoas," 
probably referring to these canoes. (Itinerary of 1690, entry for June 20.) 

2 See Massanet's letter, p. 363, note 1. 

3 Jean L'Archeveque. See p. 364, note 3. 

4 The Autor Anonimo says six leagues (Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 335). 
The stream was the Lavaca, but has been wrongly identified by some writers 
as the Colorado, a stream fifty miles or more distant. The stream called the 
San Marcos further inland was the Colorado. 



402 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

matter of difficulty. Finally we accomplished our purpose, 
looking from a little hill, which is about three quarters of a 
league distant from the mouth of the river. It appeared to 
us that it was about a league and a half from the mouth of the 
San Marcos to the mouth of the creek on which the Frenchmen 
had lived, 1 and the same distance from the mouth of the 
creek to the settlement. We travelled that day fifteen leagues. 
We took an observation on the shore of the creek, and found 
ourselves, allowing for mistakes on account of the defect in 
the astrolabe, in latitude 26° 3' more or less. 2 We named 
this river San Marcos, because we discovered it the day after 
that saint's feast day. 

The Diary of the Return, continued, with the New Entrada made 
toward the North in search of the French. 

Wednesday, the 27th, our party moved forward and halted 
on some pools, near a little mott which borders on the trail. 

Thursday, the 28th, we set out on our way, and the gover- 
nor set out the same time with thirty companions toward the 
north bank, to look for the Frenchmen who had written. The 
main body halted on the River Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe, 
on the other bank. 

Friday, the 29th, the main body halted. 

Saturday, the 30th, the main body again halted. 



May. 

Sunday, May 1st, about evening prayer, 3 the governor 
arrived with his companions, bringing two Frenchmen, streaked 
with paint after the Indian fashion. He had found them 
twenty-five leagues and more from where we had set out with 
the main body. 4 One of them, the one who had written the 
letter, was named Juan ; the other, a native of Rochelle, was 

1 The Garcitas. 

2 The Autor Anonimo says 29° 3'. The figures of the diary are evidently 
a misprint. The actual latitude of La Salle's fort was not far from 28° 40'. 

3 Vespers. 4 He had found them near the Colorado River. 



1689] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1689 403 

named Jacome. 1 They gave an account of the death of their 
people, the first saying that an epidemic of smallpox had killed 
more than a hundred persons ; that the rest had been on 
friendly terms with the Indians of all that region, and had no 
suspicion of them ; that a little more than a month before five 
Indians had come to their settlement under pretext of telling 
them something and had stopped at the most remote house in 
the settlement ; that the Frenchmen, having no suspicions, all 
went to the house unarmed to see them ; that after they were 
inside other Indians kept coming and embracing them ; that 
another party of Indians came in from the creek at the same 
time, and killed them all, including two religious and a priest, 
with daggers and sticks, and sacked all the houses ; that they 
were not there at the time, having gone to the Texas ; but that 
when they heard the news of this occurrence, [the] four of 
them came, and, finding their companions dead, they buried 
the fourteen they found ; that they exploded nearly a hundred 
barrels of powder, so that the Indians could not carry it off ; 
and that the settlement had been well provided with all sorts 
of firearms, swords, broadswords, three chalices, and a large 
collection of books, with very rare bindings. The two French- 
men were streaked with paint after the fashion of the Indians, 
and covered with antelope and buffalo hides. We found them 
in a rancheria of the chief of the Texas, 2 who were giving them 
sustenance and keeping them with great care. We took him 
[the chief] to the camp and treated him with great kindness. 
Although unable to speak Castilian he was an Indian in whom 
was recognized capacity. He had a shrine with several images. 
The governor gave him and the other Indians who had come 
with him generously of what was left of the cotton garments, 
knives, blankets, beads, and other goods. He was very much 
pleased and promised to come with some Indians of his nation 
to the province of Cohaguila. The governor made a separate 
report of all that was expedient or important in the declara- 
tions of the two Frenchmen, to send it to His Excellency. 
We continued our march to the Nueces River. On Tuesday, 

1 Called Santiago Grolette in Massanet's letter, p. 364, above. 

2 The Autor Anonimo, who was in the expedition, writes: "This captain 
of the Tejas was not in his own country there, but a long distance from it." 
(De Leon, Historia de Nuevo Leon, p. 339.) See also De Leon's letter of May 18. 



404 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1689 

May 10, the governor went ahead 1 with some companions 
to send a dispatch to His Excellency, giving an account of 
this discovery. We arrived at the presidio of Cohaguila 
today, May 13th, at nightfall. Here ends the diary. To 
insure its authenticity, it is signed by the governor, 

Alonso de Leon. 

1 Adelanto. He went ahead with fifteen men, the two Frenchmen, and 
Martinez. On the 18th Martinez was sent to Mexico with the Frenchmen and 
the despatches. (De Le6n, Historia de Nuevo Ledn, p. 342.) 



ITINERARY OF THE DE LEON EXPEDITION 

OF 1690 1 

Diary, Itinerary, and Description of the Country of the Expedi- 
tion which, by order of the Most excellent Senor Conde de 
Galve, Viceroy and Captain-general of Nueva Espana, was 
made by General Alonso de Leon, Governor of the province 
of Coahuila, and Captain of the Presidio which, on the Ac- 
count of his Majesty, is established there, and Commander- 
in-chief of the Soldiers who went on the Expedition to Recon- 
noitre the French who might be in the Bay of Espiritu Santo 
and the Province of the Texas. 2 It is as follows : 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Sunday, the 26th day of the month of March, 1690, the 
pack-animals and the baggage left the Villa of Santiago de la 
Monclova, stopping a league outside the Indian pueblo and a 
league and a half from the Villa, toward the north. \y 2 . 

Monday, the 27th, camp was broken, and we set out, 
marching eight 3 leagues northeast-by-east and halting below 
Las Lomitas on the bank of the Cuaguila River. 8. 

Tuesday, the 28th, we left the said place and valleys, going 
down stream towards the northeast, and, leaving the river, 
entered the Pass of Baluartes. From this pass we made a 
detour of a league in order to halt on the bank of the river, 
where the company camped, having marched this day eight 
leagues. 8. 

Wednesday, the 29th, the company proceeded down stream 
east-by-northeast, and passing El Alamo, 4 halted on the bank 

1 Manuscript in the Archive- General y Publico, Mexico, Provincias Inter- 
nas, vol. 182. See p. 352 for the different texts. 

2 The title and all the entries before April 9 are from B, excepting the entry 
for March 28, which is omitted from B, and is taken from C. 

3 C reads three leagues, instead of eight. It is evidently correct, as is shown 
by the map, and by comparison of distances with the 1689 journey. 

4 C reads "a little more than a league beyond El Alamo." 

405 



406 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASS ANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

of the river, having marched five leagues this day. All the 
land is level, although there is some chaparral and lechu- 
gilla. 5. 

Thursday, the 30th, we set out east-by-northeast, down 
stream, going to the junction of the Savinas River, having 
marched this day four and one-half leagues. That night the 
company from the Kingdom of Leon and the missionary 
fathers with it joined us. 1 4}^. 

Friday, the 31st, we marched down stream and, traversing 
a hill towards the east, we crossed the Savinas River, on whose 
banks the company halted. We travelled two leagues. 2. 

Saturday, April 1st, we marched towards the northeast and 
halted at a pool of rain-water. The company travelled this 
day six leagues. 6. 

Sunday, the 2d of April, after mass we set out northeast- 
by-north and arrived at some pools of rain-water, where the 
company halted, having marched this day five leagues. All 
the country is level although there is some chaparral. 5. 

Monday, the 3d, we set out towards the north over level 
land and went to the bank of an arroyo where we found the 
Indians of the Frenchman, to whom we gave tobacco and 
clothing. We travelled this day four leagues. 4. 

Tuesday, the 4th, we set out towards the north for the Rio 
Grande. 2 The company camped on its bank, and some buf- 
falo were found. They marched this day five leagues. 5. 

Wednesday, the 5th, we remained in camp, in order that 
all might be confessed and fulfill their duties to the Church 
before crossing the river. 

Thursday, the 6th, we crossed the river and marched north- 
by-northeast and camped on the bank of a dry arroyo, having 
marched eight leagues. We camped for the night without 
water. 8. 

Friday, the 7th, we set out towards the northeast over 
level land, and camped on Arroyo de Ramos, having marched 
this day three leagues. 3. 

Saturday, the 8th, the company set out northeast-by-north 
over level land, bearing in places much mesquite brush, and ar- 

1 C states that they camped on the bank of the river. 

2 C adds "over level land with some mesquite, and having found the ford." 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 407 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

rived at an arroyo which we named Caramanchel. 1 On account 
of the poor ford, most of the day was spent in getting the pack- 
animals across. We marched this day three leagues. 3. 

Sunday, the 9th, after mass we set out northeast-by-north 
over level land and, crossing two wooded valleys, entered a 
mesquite grove and found the ford of the Nuezes River. 
Here we camped in a meadow on the bank of the river, having 
marched this day five leagues. 5. 

Monday, the 10th, having crossed the river on a passage- 
way of trees, 2 we set out towards the east, and travelled two 
leagues. Then we marched towards the north another two 
leagues and, making a detour 3 to the east over level land, but 
with some mesquite brush, crossed the Sarco River. The 
company camped here, having marched this day seven 
leagues. 7. 

Tuesday, the 11th, we set out towards the north over some 
plains, crossing some knolls. We camped by the Rio Hondo, 
having marched six leagues. 6. 

Wednesday, the 12th, we were delayed with the company, 
to search for two comrades who were lost in a severe rain- 
storm the preceding day. We marched 0. 

Thursday, the 13th, at noon, the two comrades arrived, 
and at the same time we learned from some Indians that six 
leagues from this place there was a gathering of Indians where 
a Frenchman had come. With twenty soldiers I set out this 
day towards the west along the northern bank of the river. 4 
At about five leagues I camped for the night. 5. 

Friday, the 14th, at dawn, I continued my march and, 
making a detour towards the north over a plain, arrived at 
the bank of a river where the Indian encampment was. A 
great number of them, both large and small, came out to see 
us and, upon giving them tobacco and biscuits, they informed 
us that two Frenchmen were on the other bank of the Guada- 
lupe River. One Indian had a French musket. Having heard 

1 This stream is not mentioned in the 1689 expedition. 

2 "Por un ailadero de arboles," omitted from C. 

3 The same detour is mentioned in the 1689 diary and map, under date of 
April 5. 

4 C adds that Captain Don Gregorio Salinas Varona was among the twenty. 



408 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

this news, we returned to the camp, a large number of Indians 
accompanying us. At the camp we presented them with 
clothing, flour, tobacco, and other trifles. We had marched 
seven leagues. 7. 

Saturday, the 15th, the company set out towards the east, 
going down stream until the ford was reached. They marched 
six leagues. 6. 

Sunday, the 16th, after mass, we crossed the river, going 
east-by-north over level land, and reached the Chapa River, 
where we made a bridge in order to cross it, advancing until 
some pools were found on whose banks the company halted, 
having marched eight leagues. 8. 

Monday, the 17th, we set out towards the northeast through 
some woods which were encountered, making several detours 
to the north-northeast and east until we arrived at the Arroyo 
de los Robalos, 1 where the company halted, having marched 
this day five leagues. 5. 

Tuesday, the 18th, we set out in different directions to 
search for one hundred and twenty-six horses which had 
stampeded. The company set out, but at a short distance 
the guide lost his way and it was necessary for us to continue 
towards the north in search of the Medina River. As it was 
already late, the company camped on a knoll to which we gave 
the name of El Real del Rosario. Although there was little 
water, it sufficed for the company. We marched this day 
four leagues. 4. 

Wednesday, the 19th, we set out towards the north. Hav- 
ing arrived at the Medina River above the ford, we crossed at 
a shoal, having marched seven leagues. 7. 

Thursday, the 20th, we set out towards the east and, at 
a distance of two leagues, reached the ford of the river, where 
the company halted, as it was necessary to arrange for fording 
it. 2. 

Friday, the 21st, we marched towards the east and arrived 
at Arroyo del Leon. We marched this day five leagues. 5. 

Saturday, the 22d, we marched towards the east and at 
times towards the northeast. We camped by a stream of 
brackish water, having marched six leagues. 6. 

Apparently the stream called Arroyo de Vino in 1689. (Itinerary, April 9.) 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 409 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Sunday, the 23d, after mass the company set out east by 
northeast through some live-oak groves and camped near the 
Guadalupe River, where there is an arroyo close to the river. 
We marched five leagues. 5. 

Monday, the 24th, the company set out down stream and, 
having crossed the river with much difficulty, 1 because there 
was so much water, we camped on the other bank, having 
marched two leagues. 2. 

Tuesday, the 25th, I set out with twenty soldiers, 2 leaving 
the company in the aforesaid place, and went towards the 
east to reconnoitre the Bay of Espiritu Santo. This day we 
marched fourteen leagues and camped on the banks of some 
small pools of water. 14. 

Wednesday, the 26th, we arrived at the French settlement, 
which we saw last year. 3 Having ascertained from its form 
that it was as before, and having learned where the artillery 
was buried, we burned the wooden fort; and, going two leagues 
further, we recognized in the bay what were apparently two 
buoys, one at the mouth of the San Marcos River and the 
other at one side, indicating the same channel. The sun was 
not observed as the day was cloudy. From there we returned 
up the arroyo of the French settlement, to see if we might 
meet some Indians from whom to obtain information, but, 
not having met any, we camped on the bank of the ar- 
royo, 4 having marched this day, in going and coming, four- 
teen leagues. 14. 

Thursday, the 27th, we returned to the camp, having 
marched up the arroyo of the French in search of some In- 
dians of whom to obtain news. After making some detours 
we reached the camp. We marched this day twenty 
leagues. 20. 

1 The crossing was at the same place, or not far from the same place, as 
that of the 1689 expedition. In 1689 the distance from the Guadalupe to the 
French settlement was given as seventeen leagues east-northeast. In 1690 the 
settlement was reached by going nineteen leagues eastwardly, the difference 
being probably one of estimating. 

2 C adds that Salinas Varona went also. 

3 C adds that the journey to the French settlement was about five leagues 
to the east. 

4 Called a river in C. 



410 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Friday, the 28th, I set out with eight soldiers up the Guada- 
lupe River, 1 sending up several smokes to see if I might meet 
some Indians, of whom to obtain news. Having gone six 
leagues, we returned to the camp, having marched this day, 
in going and coming, twelve leagues. 12. 

Saturday, the 29th, the company set out towards the east 
about three leagues and then we turned towards the north- 
east another three leagues, over level land, arriving at some 
pools of rain-water, which we named San Pedro Martir. We 
marched this day six leagues. 6. 

Sunday, the 30th, after mass, there arrived two soldiers 
from the presidios of La Viscaya, 2 who informed us that their 
comrades were coming behind to overtake me and to join this 
expedition by order of the Most Excellent Senor Conde de 
Galve, viceroy and captain-general of New Spain. I sent 
to meet them with clothing and supplies. I left the company 
there to await them, and set out with sixteen soldiers to cut 
passageways 3 and to seek some Indians who could guide us 
and inform us whether there were any Frenchmen in these 
regions. I passed this night by some pools of rain-water, 
having marched nine leagues. 9. 

Monday, May 1st, I continued on my journey, passing 
various arroyos 4 and deserted rancherias without meeting an 
Indian. We slept on a small hill, having marched twelve 
leagues. 12. 

Tuesday, the 2d, I set out and arrived at a pasture near 
the San Marcos River, where we slept, 5 having marched this 
day fourteen leagues because of several detours. 14. 

Wednesday, the 3d, after placing a cross in a tree, I reached 
the San Marcos Rive/ and, having crossed it, 6 I advanced 
and, at about five leagues, on the edge of a small wood, we 

1 This journey is not shown on the map. 

2 C reads "Presidios del Parral." 

3 A and B read "a que desmontasen unos ailaderos." C reads "a desmon- 
tar algunos pedazos de monte." 

4 He was crossing the upper waters of the Lavaca in the neighborhood of 
Hallettsville. 

6 C adds, "since it is a deep river I could not cross it." 
6 The Colorado. C states that De Leon went up-stream and found a good 
ford. 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 411 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

saw an Indian woman and a boy. Upon signalling them with 
a handkerchief they did not wish to emerge, but instead took 
refuge in the wood. We camped this night on a hill, level as 
a villa, leaving for them in their settlement a handkerchief, 
biscuit, tobacco, razors, and knives. We marched this day 
seven leagues. 7. 

Thursday, the 4th, an Indian came to see us and, having 
spoken with him by signs, he told us that he was of the Texas, 
that this day we would arrive at a rancheria, and that he, 
with his wife and a young brother-in-law of his who lived 
there, would guide us. I gave him a horse upon which he 
might load his belongings, but at a distance of three leagues 
we decided to send him on, and, returning to the place where 
we had slept, we told him we would wait there for him to go 
to summon the governor of the Texas, among whom were 
some Frenchmen. We marched this day six leagues. 1 6. 

Friday, the 5th, in the morning I sent Captain Francisco 
de Venavides with three soldiers to the camp in order that it 
should come on. About five in the afternoon, the Indian 
whom I had sent to the captain of the Texas returned to in- 
form me that his horse had run away from him. 

Saturday, the 6th, I sent four soldiers over the trail to 
ascertain whether he had joined any Indians and, having met 
another Indian, they brought him to camp. We offered him 
clothing if he would go to the Texas to tell the governor to 
come to see us. Thereupon, the Indian, greedy for the gift, 
told me that if I would give him another horse he would go 
to summon the governor of the Texas and that he would leave 
his wife and a brother-in-law of his to guide us. So I sent 
him on this day. 

Sunday, the 7th, Monday, the 8th, we halted where the 
Indian told us to await him and, also, to see if we could dis- 
cern any smoke, in order to go to meet the company, for that 
was the signal we gave them. 2 

1 C adds that on this day the twenty soldiers of the presidios of Parral 
(Nueva Vizcaya) reached the camp of San Pedro Martir. 

2 C states that the camp set out from San Pedro Martir on this day, going 
three leagues northeast through heavy timber, crossing two dry arroyos then 
going west and north through heavy timber, crossing four dry arroyos, and 



412 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

Tuesday, 1 the 9th, having discerned smoke, I set out with 
four soldiers to meet the company. Having crossed the 
San Marcos River, about noon I met two Indians, and, at a 
little distance, Captain Francisco de Benavides and three 
soldiers, with an Indian who spoke the Mexican language. 
From him we learned that a French boy was in a rancheria 
about two days' march to the westward and another in another 
rancheria to the east. I sent the said Captain Benavides 
with two soldiers to the place where I had left the comrades 
awaiting me and went on to the company, which I found in 
an arroyo where it had just halted. Giving them orders to 
march next day and to await me where their comrades were, 
and, having chosen three horses, eight soldiers, and supplies, 
the Indian interpreter guiding us, we advanced twelve leagues 
by evening. 2 12. 

Wednesday, the 10th, continuing to the west about nine 
leagues, we marched through a forest of oaks and grape-vines 
another five leagues, and upon the edge of the wood met 
some Indians and a French boy named Pedro Talon. 3 As 
he told us that there was no other in that vicinity, we returned 
to sleep near the camp of the night before, having marched 
that day in going and coming twenty-seven leagues. 4 27. 

stopping on one called San Miguel Arcangel. The entry omits entirely the data 
printed here. De Leon evidently reached the Colorado near La Grange The 
map shows above the network of arroyos crossed on May 1 a stream correspond- 
ing to the upper Navidad, and just before reaching the Colorado a small stream 
flowing into the Colorado from the west. Such a stream enters at La Grange. 

1 Both A and B lack entries for the 8th, but C states that the camp left San 
Miguel Arcangel, moved north, passed eight dry arroyos, travelled nine leagues, 
and camped at San Gregorio Nazianzeno. 

2 C states that on the 9th the camp moved from San Gregorio north seven 
leagues, to a hill named Jesus Maria y Joseph de Buenavista ; that De Leon 
reached the camp in the afternoon, and set out with eight men, including Salinas 
Varona, to seek a French boy who was in the rancheria toward the southwest, 
going twelve leagues. 

3 Talon must have been found in the region of Gonzales, probably to the 
northward of that place. 

4 C states that they set out before morning, went southwest nine leagues to 
a high hill, before entering the forest, then five leagues through a forest on the 
edge of which they met Pedro Talon coming with a rancheria of Indians, return- 
ing that day almost to the hill of Jesus Maria y Joseph. It adds that Captain 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 413 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

Thursday, the 11th, we continued our journey towards the 
northeast about twelve leagues, to a high hill winch had a 
clump of very high trees, where we found some Indians camped, 
who informed us of another Frenchman who was near there 
in a rancheria. I sent an Indian to summon him and another 
Indian afterwards told us that other Frenchmen had arrived 
at the entrance to the Bay of Espiritu Santo. At the same 
time I sent two soldiers to the camp in order that four should 
come with supplies and a relay of horses, so that, if the French- 
man should not come, we might go in search of him. We 
crossed the San Marcos River this afternoon in order that, 
since it had rained heavily, it might not rise and keep some of 
us on one side and some on the other. We marched this day 
sixteen leagues. 1 16. 

Friday, the 12th, in the morning the French boy arrived 
with three Indians and said his name was Pedro Muni; at 
the same time came the soldiers whom I sent to summon 
from the camp. We therefore advanced towards the northeast 
until we reached it. We marched this day six leagues. 2 6. 

Saturday, the 13th, the company set out from San Joseph 
towards the east about three leagues, and another three towards 
the northeast, crossing some valleys and arroyos with little 
water. Stopping upon the bank of an arroyo, we gave it the 
name of San Francisco de Asis. 3 We marched six leagues. 6. 

Sunday, the 14th, the company set out for the Colorado 
River, crossing some valleys towards the northeast and, halting 
on its banks, we gave it the name of Espiritu Santo River, 4 
having marched six leagues. 6. 

Monday, the 15th, the company set out down stream and 
at a distance of half 5 a league crossed the river. Passing 

Francisco Martinez continued north with the camp, crossing the San Marcos, 
and proceeded to the place where De Leon had left his companions, at San Ilde- 
fonso, having travelled eight leagues. 

1 C adds that the camp moved this day to a better site, called San Joseph, 
three leagues northeast. 

2 C adds that they found the camp, which awaited them, six leagues from 
the river, towards the north. 

3 Evidently the Yegua River. 4 The Brazos River. 

5 C states that the camp moved east three leagues, crossed the river, then 
one league northeast, then north one league to San Juan, going the same distance 



414 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

through a very thick wood towards the northeast, and making 
several detours to the north, we halted at an arroyo to which 
we gave the name of San Juan. We marched this day five 
leagues. 5. 

Tuesday, the 16th, the company set out towards the north- 
east for about two leagues, crossing two arroyos in the same 
direction, and camped in a hollow, having marched four leagues. 
We gave it the name of Beatto Salvador de Hortta. 4. 

Wednesday, the 17th, the company set out towards the 
northeast-by-north and camped at an arroyo to which we 
gave the name of San Diego de Alcala. 1 We marched this 
day six leagues. 6. 

Thursday, the 18th, the company set out northeast-by- 
east, crossing several arroyos at one of which we met the In- 
dian whom we had sent, with the governor of the Texas, 
accompanied by fourteen of the principal Indians among them. 
I gave them clothing and other goods from those we were 
carrying, the said governor and his people manifesting much 
joy at having seen us and making known that all his people 
were awaiting us with much pleasure. 

Returning to a very pleasant valley, the company halted 
there at an arroyo and gave it the name of Valle de Santa El- 
vira. We marched this day eight leagues. 8. 

Friday, the 19th, we marched north-by-northeast and at 
a little distance we entered another very large and pleasant 
valley to which we gave the name of La Santissima Trinidad, 2 
and although the passage was arranged, we spent most of 
the day in getting the supplies across, and, having crossed the 
river, found another very pleasant valley which was given the 
name of Monclova. We marched this day one and one half 
leagues. 1 %. 

Saturday, the 20th, we marched northeast-by-east through 

of five leagues. The crossing of the Brazos was above the mouth of the Nava- 
sota River, to which the name of San Juan was given. 

1 Evidently a branch of the Bidais. 

2 There is an ellipsis here. C states that they reached a large valley named 
Galve, beyond which they came to the Rio Trinidad. C adds that the camp east 
of the river was called San Sebastian, although it mentions a valley of San Sebas- 
tian next day. The Trinity was apparently reached near the mouth of Boggy 
Creek. 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 415 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

some groves of live-oak and some arroyos for a distance of 
four leagues. Upon emerging from the wood we found a 
large valley which was named San Sebastian and at one side 
of said valley we found four ranches of Indians who had planted 
maize and frijoles, and had very clean houses and high beds 
in which to sleep. We bestowed gifts upon them and con- 
tinued towards the northeast through groves of live-oak and 
arroyos to some pools of rain-water to which we gave the name 
of San Bernardino, having marched seven leagues. 1 7. 

Sunday, the 21st, after mass we set out northeast-by-east, 
through some groves of live-oak and of pine, crossing the dry 
beds of four arroyos. Having arrived at an arroyo with water 
the company halted in a small plaza to which we gave the 
name of San Carlos, having marched six leagues. 6. 

Monday, the 22d, we set out northeast-by-east through 
some groves of live-oak, crossing five dry arroyos and some 
small hills where there are veins of black and red stone, and 
continued until we reached a valley thickly settled with the 
houses of the Texas Indians. About them were fields of maize, 
beans, pumpkins and watermelons, and we gave the valley 
the name of San Francisco Xavier. Making a detour to the 
north by a hill clad with live-oak, at about a quarter of a league 
we found another valley of Texas Indians and their houses; 
and their governor telling us that his house was very near, 
the company halted upon the bank of an arroj^o, having 
marched this day five leagues. 2 To this settlement we gave 
the name of San Francisco de los Texas. This afternoon I 
went with the governor of the said Texas to leave him at 
his house, where his mother, his wife, a daughter of his, and 
many people who were expecting him came out to receive 
me, bringing out a bench upon which to seat me and giving 
me a luncheon of corn tamales and atole, all very cleanly. 

Tuesday, the 23d, I set out with the reverend missionary 
fathers over the half -league intervening between the camp and 
the house of the governor, in a procession with the officers and 
soldiers, who were followed by a large number of Indians with 
the said Indian governor. Having reached his house, the 

1 They were now near Crockett, Houston County. 

2 C omits all the rest of this entry. 



416 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

missionaries sang the Te Deum Laudamus. 1 After remain- 
ing a while at his house seated upon benches which the said 
governor ordered brought, they served us, in jars and crocks, 
a luncheon of boiled beans, atole, and pinole, which the said 
fathers and soldiers ate. We then returned to camp. 

Wednesday, the 24th, a chapel 2 was prepared in which to 
celebrate the feast of Corpus Cristi, having this day bestowed 
upon the Indians clothing and the other commodities. This 
day I notified the governor to summon all his people to come 
to the feast of Corpus Cristi. 

Thursday, the 25th, the feast of the Most Holy Sacrament 3 
was celebrated with all solemnity and a procession, all the 
officers and soldiers, the Indian governor, and many of his 
people accompanying the procession and witnessing the high 
mass. 4 Mass having been completed, the ceremony was en- 
acted of raising the flag in the name of his Majesty (whom 
God protect), and I, the said General Alonso de Leon, as the 
superior officer of all the companies which, by order of his 
Excellency, the Senor Conde de Galve, viceroy of this New 
Spain, had come on this journey in the name of his Majesty, 
accepted the obedience which they rendered to his Majesty, 
and in his royal name promised to befriend and aid them. I 
delivered to the governor a staff with a cross, giving him the 
title of governor of all his people, in order that he might rule 
and govern them, giving him to understand by means of an 
interpreter that which he should observe and do, and the re- 
spect and obedience which he and all his people ought to have 
for the priests, and that he should make all his families attend 
Christian teaching, in order that they might be instructed in 
the affairs of our holy Catholic faith so that later they might 
be baptized and become Christians. He accepted the staff 
with much pleasure, promising to do all that was desired of 
him, and the company fired three salutes. Likewise, the 
Reverend Father Commissary of these conversions in this mis- 
sion, Fray Damian Masanet, was given possession, in order 

1 C omits most of the rest of this entry. The settlement was in the valley 
of San Pedro Creek. See Massanet's letter, p. 376, above, note 2. 

2 The preparation of the chapel is not mentioned in C. 

3 /. e., Corpus Christi. * La missa cantata. 



ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 417 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

that he might instruct them in the mysteries of our holy 
Catholic faith. The governor and his people having begged 
us to leave them religious to teach them the Christian doc- 
trine, as a pledge of friendship we asked the said governor to 
give us three of the principal Indians of this province, among 
them being a brother, a nephew, and a cousin of the governor, 
who with much pleasure promised to go with us to see the 
most Excellent Senor Conde de Galve, viceroy and captain- 
general of New Spain. This day the sun was observed and 
we found ourselves in 34° 7'. 1 

Friday, the 26th, I set out with the missionary fathers, 
some soldiers and officers, and the said Indian governor, 
towards the northeast, to find the most suitable place to put 
the mission, and after having seen three small valleys, 2 we 
came to where they told us two Frenchmen had died, where they 
had wished to make a settlement, and where we saw the 
graves. We placed a cross in a tree for them and went to a 
river which we found could be crossed only by means of a 
tree which the Indians have athwart it, and a rope of which 
they take hold. We named the river San Miguel Arcangel, 3 
and from there we returned to camp, having travelled six 
leagues. 6. 

Saturday, the 27th ; Sunday, the 28th ; Monday, the 29th ; 
Tuesday, the 30th, and Wednesday, the 31st, 4 they labored 
to build the church and the dwelling of the apostolic fathers, 
in the midst of the principal settlement of the Texas. 

Thursday, June 1st, I gave possession of the said mission, 
the reverend father commissary, Fray Damian Masanet, hav- 
ing sung mass in the said church, the said Indian governor 
and his people attending mass and the blessing of the church. 
This afternoon I sent the company to begin the return march 
to the province of Coahuila, over the same road by which we 

1 The entry for the 25th is much less complete in C. 

2 C says they went about three leagues before reaching the three small 
valleys. 

3 C adds that this crossing was used by most of the Indians of this province, 
and that the valley at the river was named San Gaspar. The other three valleys 
they named San Antonio de Padua, Santa Margarita, and San Carlos. 

4 C adds that on the 31st possession was taken of the house and church, an 
event which is assigned to June 1 by the other diaries. 



418 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

came. They halted this night at the camp of San Carlos, 
having marched five leagues. 5. 

Friday, the 2d, with the reverend father commissary, Fray 
Damian Masanet, and six soldiers, 1 I set out from the pueblo 
of San Francisco de los Texas to follow the company, there 
being with us a brother of the governor, a nephew, and a 
cousin of his, and another Indian of the said pueblo. Having 
joined the company we advanced to the Real de San Bernar- 
dino, a little over half a league. The company marched this 
day a little over six and one-half leagues. 6J^. 

Saturday, the 3d, we continued our march, crossing the 
valley of San Sebastian and that of Monclova. We reached 
the Santisima Trinidad River and, as it was so swollen that 
we could not cross, we camped near the river, 2 having marched 
this day six and one-half leagues. 6J^. 

Sunday, the 4th; Monday, the 5th; Tuesday, the 6th; 
Wednesday, the 7th; Thursday, the 8th; Friday, the 9th; 
Saturday, the 10th ; this day a raft was built and the crossing 
of the river was begun. 

Sunday, the 11th, the crossing of the river was completed, 
and at about two in the afternoon the company set out through 
the Valle de Galbe, until that of Santa Elbira was reached, 
where they camped by some pools of rain-water, having 
marched three leagues. 3. 

Monday, the 12th, the company set out from the said camp 
and, passing through that of San Diego de Alcala about two 
leagues, camped by some pools of rain-water, having marched 
nine leagues. 9. 

Tuesday, the 13th, the company set out from the said place 
and, passing through El Beato Salvador de Horta, we reached 
the Arroyo de San Juan, having marched this day eight 
leagues. 8. 

Wednesday, the 14th, the company set out from the said 
place and, crossing the Espiritu Santo River, we reached a 
range of low hills where there was an arroyo with water, by 

1 C says Salinas Varona, Martinez and four soldiers. It omits to mention 
the four Indians who accompanied them. 

2 C states that they camped in the Valle de Monclova. It gives the dis- 
tance for the second as six leagues and for the third as seven leagues. 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 419 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

which the company halted, having marched this day eight 
leagues. 8. 

Thursday , the 15th, the company set out from the said 
place, and passing by the Real de San Francisco de Asis, we 
reached some arroyos of water whence I had dispatched the 
Indian to summon the governor of the Texas, 1 having marched 
this day seven leagues. 7. 

Friday, the 16th, the company set out from the said place 
and, passing by the Real de San Joseph, 2 we reached an 
arroyo with water, where the company halted, having marched 
this day six leagues. 6. 

Saturday, the 17th, the company set out from the said 
place, and, crossing the San Marcos River, we reached an 
arroyo with water, where the company halted, having marched 
this day five leagues. It was given the name of Jesus, Maria 
y Joseph de Buena Vista. 3 5. 

Sunday, the 18th, the company continued their journey 
and I, General Alonso de Leon, with sixteen soldiers, 4 set out 
towards the northeast in search of two French boys and a 
French girl, of whom some Indians, who were camped in the 
said place, 5 gave me information. We travelled over some 
plains for about four leagues, until we reached a small wood, 
through which we went, and afterward marched towards the 
east about three leagues over another plain, where we found a 
small wood and a rancheria 6 of the Indians. We continued 
from there over some very large plains 7 where there were a 
great number of buffalo, to the edge of a small river, near which 
was a large clump of trees, where we halted, as it was already 
very dark, having marched this day seventeen leagues. 17. 

Monday, the 19th, we continued our journey along the 
banks of said stream, which has timber on both sides and, 

1 C omits the item regarding the sending for the governor of the Texas. 

2 C calls it Real de San Joseph y San Ildefonso. 

3 It was given the name on the way northeast. 

4 C says Salinas Varona and sixteen soldiers. 

5 C adds "In this camp there were many nations of Indians, such as the 
Cantona, the Thoaga, the Chana, and the Cabas." 

6 C says they were called the Tho 6. 

7 C adds that they were going southeast, and gives the distance for the day 
as sixteen leagues. 



420 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

having crossed it and marched about two leagues, we found a 
rancheria of Indians, 1 to whom I gave presents and who re- 
mained friendly towards us. From there we continued towards 
the south over some plains, and after going about one league 
we found another rancheria 2 of Indians to whom I also gave 
presents. From there we continued over the said plains in 
the same direction for about four leagues until we entered a 
small wood. We went through this and continued towards the 
west and, crossing a large arroyo in a wood, we found a very 
large nation of Indians, 3 to whom I gave presents and who 
remained friendly towards us, and gave us Indians to guide us 
to another rancheria. From there we set out over some 
plains and, as it was now night, we halted on the bank of an 
arroyo, having travelled this day fifteen leagues. 15. 

Tuesday, the 20th, we continued our journey towards the 
east where we found a rancheria of Indians, 4 to whom I gave 
presents and who gave us four Indians to guide us to where 
the French children were. From there we set out in the same 
direction over some plains which were covered with buffalo, 
to cross the arroyo of the French, and having crossed it, we 
continued to the old settlement, and from there continued 
towards the south until we reached the arroyo which the In- 
dians call "de Las Canoas," 5 and having crossed it we came 
to another small arroyo where we halted, having marched this 
day fourteen leagues. 14. 

Wednesday, the 21st, we set out towards the south 6 and 
after about one league we met two Indians who were coming, 
on horseback, from the nation which had the French children. 7 
They took us to their rancheria which was on the headland 
of a small bay. Here were Roberto and Magdalena Talon. 
I discussed their ransom, and having given them presents and 
paid the ransom which they asked, they came with us with a 
thousand impertinencies, begging of us all the horses, and 

1 Called the Co oe (C). 2 Called the Tho 6 (C). 

3 C states that it contained more than three thousand persons and was 
called the Na aman. 

* Called Caisquetebana (C). 6 See Itinerary of 1689. 

6 C says southeast. 

7 Called Cascossi, often written Caocosi (C). 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 421 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

even the clothing which we wore upon our backs. Meanwhile 
they went to get the other French boy, who was two leagues 
from there in the same nation. Having brought him, they 
proceeded further with their impertinence, carrying bows and 
arrows, a large number of the Indians coming with shields, 
begging exorbitant things, and saying that if we did not give 
them to them they would have to shoot and kill us all. Their 
saying this and beginning to shoot were simultaneous, where- 
upon we attacked them, and, having killed four and wounded 
others, 1 they retreated, having wounded two of our horses. 
We departed in an orderly manner to camp for the night at 
a distance of about four leagues, where we had slept the night 
before, having travelled this day twelve leagues. 2 12. 

Thursday, the 22d, at dawn we set out in the same 
northerly direction over some very large plains to the bank 
of the Guadalupe River, and about ten o'clock at night we 
halted near a small wood, having marched this day fourteen 
leagues. 14. 

Friday, the 23d, we set out towards the north for about two 
leagues, where we found the track of the company which had 
gone by, and after about three leagues we came up with them 
at the ford of the Guadalupe River, where we halted, having 
marched five leagues. 5. 

Saturday, the 24th, St. John's day, the company set out 
from the said place, and, crossing the Guadalupe River, we 
continued our march to an arroyo which is before the Real 
de Agua Salada, where we camped, having marched this day 
seven leagues. 7. 

Sunday, the 25th, the company set out from the said place, 
and passing by the Real de la Salada, we reached the Arroyo 
del Leon, where the company halted, having marched this day 
seven leagues. 7. 

Monday, the 26th, the company set out from the said 
place, and we reached the Medina River, 3 where the company 
halted, having marched this day five leagues. 5. 

Tuesday, the 27th, the company set out from the said 

1 C says four were killed and two wounded. 

2 C says twelve leagues north. 

3 C says they crossed the Medina and gives the distance as six leagues. 



422 TEXAS: DE LEON-MASSANET EXPEDITIONS [1690 
DATE. LEAGUES. 

place, and arrived at an arroyo with water, where the company- 
halted, having marched this day eight leagues. 1 8. 

Wednesday, the 28th, the company set out from the said 
place, and, the guide having lost the way, we camped at an 
arroyo with water above the ford of the Robalos River, having 
marched this day five leagues. 2 5. 

Thursday, the 29th, the company set out from said place, 
and passing the Real del Aire, we reached some pools of water, 
where the company camped, having marched five leagues. 3 5. 

Friday, the 30th, the company set out from the said place, 
and crossing the Rio Hondo we reached Las Cruzes, about three 
leagues above the ford of the Jondo River, having marched 
this day eight leagues. 8. 

Saturday, July 1st, the company set out from the said 
place, and we arrived at the Sarco 4 River, having marched 
this day five leagues. 5. 

Sunday, the 2d, the company set out from the said place 
and, crossing the Nueses River, we reached some pools of 
water, where the company camped, having marched this day 
eight leagues. 5 8. 

Monday, the 3d, the company set out from the said place, 
and crossing the Arroyo de Ramos, 6 we reached some pools 
of water, where the company halted, having marched this day 
ten leagues. 10. 

Tuesday, the 4th, the company set out from the said place, 
and we arrived at the Rio Grande but, as it was very much 
swollen, it could not be crossed, and the company halted 
there, having marched this day eight leagues. 8. 

Wednesday, the 5th; Thursday, the 6th; Friday, the 7th; 
Saturday, the 8th; Sunday, the 9th; Monday, the 10th, and 
Tuesday, the 11th, we remained in camp upon the bank of the 
said Rio Grande, through being unable to cross, as it was still 

1 C gives the distance as seven leagues. 

1 C says nothing about the guide losing his way, but states that they went 
west four leagues, and south one league to a rancheria of Tho oe Indians. 

1 C states that on this day the horse herd of two hundred and seven head 
and twenty-five men were left behind to come more slowly, being worn out. 

4 Called Rio Frio in C. B C says seven leagues. 

6 C calls it Arroyo de Caramanchel, and gives the distance as eight leagues. 



1690] ITINERARY OF DE LEON, 1690 423 

DATE. LEAGUES. 

very much swollen. 1 From there I dispatched a courier to 
his Excellency sending him a Frenchman named Pedro Muni, 
the autos, map, and this itinerary, giving an account to his 
Excellency of the entire expedition. — Alonso de Leon. 

1 C states that on the afternoon of the 12th De Le6n swam his horse across, 
followed by Father Massanet, four soldiers, and Pedro Mone. C continues the 
journey to Monclova. On the 13th they went to Los Charcos de Agua Verde, 
fourteen leagues; on the 14th to the Sabinas, above the junction, seventeen 
leagues; and on the 15th to Monclova, twelve leagues. 



IV. ARIZONA 

THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA (SOUTHERN 

ARIZONA AND NORTHERN SONORA) 

1687-1710 



INTRODUCTION 

While the frontier was being pushed northeastward into 
Texas, it was at the same time being extended northwestward 
into Arizona. Little was accomplished before the end of the 
seventeenth century toward colonizing California, but steady 
advance had been made up the Pacific slope into Sinaloa and 
Sonora. By the middle of the seventeenth century large 
herds of cattle were grazing in the valleys of the Mayo, 
Yaqui, and Sonora Rivers. Mining outdistanced stock- 
raising, and in advance of both went the border military 
posts. 

But the most notable factor in pushing northward the 
frontier on the Pacific slope was the work of the Jesuit mission- 
aries. Beginning their labors there about 1590, by 1600 five 
Jesuit missionaries had founded eight substantial churches 
near the Sinaloa River. Ten years later Fuerte de Montes- 
claros was built on the Rio del Fuerte, and in the same year 
a notable treaty was made with the Yaquis. Thus encour- 
aged, the Jesuits advanced to the Mayo River in 1613, when 
they built what is regarded as the first mission in modern 
Sonora. According to Father Perez de Ribas, in 1644 there 
were thirty-five missions in Sinaloa and Sonora, each serving 
from one to four Indian pueblos, and the records showed a 
total of over 300,000 baptisms to that date. By the end of 
the third quarter of the century missions, followed or preceded 
by mining camps and ranches, had ascended the valley of the 
Sonora River, on the eastern and western branches respectively, 
as far as Arispe and Cucurpe. Meanwhile, since Vizcaino's 
time, pearl fishing in the Gulf of California had been inter- 

427 



428 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA 

mittently carried on, and several unsuccessful attempts had 
been made to colonize the Peninsula. 1 

The next forward step on the mainland was taken when 
Father Eusebio Kino and his companions entered Pimeria 
Alta, in 1687. Pimeria Alta, the home of the Upper Pimas, 
extended from the valley of the Altar River to that of the Gila, 
and thus included that part of Arizona which was later con- 
tained in the Gadsden Purchase. The region had been entered 
by Friar Marcos de Niza, in 1539. It had been crossed on its 
eastern and western edges by different divisions of the Coro- 
nado party, and in 1604 Onate had descended Bill Williams 
Fork and the Colorado. Between that time and the Pueblo 
Revolt of 1680 the colonists of New Mexico opened a trade 
with the Pimas of the San Pedro River valley. But no record 
has come to us of Spaniards having entered what is now Arizona 
from the south, after 1542, until the advent there of Father 
Kino, and when he arrived in northern Sonora in 1687 all the 
region beyond the Altar River valley was practically unknown. 

Father Kino (Kuhn) was born in Trent, on the border be- 
tween Germany and Italy, in 1644. He was educated in the 
universities of Freiburg and Ingolstadt, where he distin- 
guished himself in mathematics. At the age of twenty-five 
he decided, during a severe illness, to become a missionary to 
heathen lands. He hoped to go to the Far East, to follow in 
the footsteps of Saint Francis Xavier, but instead he was sent 
to Mexico, where he arrived in 1681. There he at once came 
into prominence by entering into a controversy with the 
learned Jesuit Sigiienza y Gongora, concerning the comet of 
that year. Two years later, in the capacity of royal cosmog- 
rapher and superior of the missionaries, he joined the expedi- 

1 Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I. 235-236 ; Perez de Ribas, 
Historia de los Triumphos de Nuestra Fe entre Gentes las mas Bdrbaras y Fieras del 
Nuevo Orbe (Madrid, 1645) ; Venegas (Burriel), Noticia de la California (Madrid, 
1757) ; Alegre, Historia de la Compania de Jesus (Mexico, 1841) ; Ortega, Apos- 
tolicos A fanes de la Compania de Jesus (Barcelona, 1757). 



INTRODUCTION 429 

tion sent under Atondo y Atillon to attempt anew the con- 
quest and conversion of California. This enterprise failing, 
he returned to Mexico and secured permission to work on the 
mainland opposite the Peninsula, which he had visited while 
in California. His request was that he might work among the 
Guaymas and Seris, but he was sent to Pimeria Alta instead. 

Arriving at his destination in 1687, he at once established 
the mission of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, in the valley of 
the San Miguel River, something over a hundred miles south 
of Tucson. This mission was his headquarters for twenty- 
four years of exploration, missionary work, and writing. 
Operating from this base, he established a number of mis- 
sions south of the present United States in the valleys of the 
Magdalena and the Altar ; crossed the line into Arizona and 
founded the missions of San Xavier del Bac, Guevavi, and 
Tumacacori; several times explored the Gila River; and in an 
attempt to answer the old question whether California was 
an island or a peninsula, twice descended the Colorado below 
the mouth of the Gila, once crossing into California and once 
reaching the Gulf. This inquiry was one of the chief interests 
of the last eleven years of his life, and, as a result of his explora- 
tions, he answered it to his own satisfaction in a treatise, as 
yet unpublished, I believe, which he called " Cosmographical 
Demonstration that California is not an Island but a Penin- 
sula, and that it is continuous with this New Spain, the Gulf 
of California ending in latitude thirty-five degrees." 1 

In his day Father Kino was the principal personage in his 
field. It was he who created Pimeria Alta as a Spanish prov- 

1 These paragraphs follow closely Bolton, "Father Kino's Lost History, its 
Discovery, and its Value," in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 
VI. 10-13. See references cited therein and also Sommervogel, Bibliotheque de la 
Compagnie de Jesus, premiere partie, IV. 1044; Kino, "Favores Celestiales" 
(MS.), passim ; Bancroft, North Mexican States, I. 186-187, 250-251 ; Alegre, 
Hist, de la Compafiia de Jesus, III. 42 ; Beristain, Biblioteca Hispano-Americana 
Septentrional; Clavigero, Historia de la Antigua 6 Baja California (Mexico, 
1852) ; Ortega, Apostolicos Afanes, p. 284. 



430 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA 

ince and inspired the occupation of Lower California. Had 
life and strength been spared him to push with his wonted 
zeal and skill his projects for conversion and conquest in Alta 
California, six decades would not have elapsed, perhaps, be- 
fore his dreams were realized, and then by the Franciscans, 
after his own order had been expelled from Spanish America. 
He not only created Pimeria Alta, but he first made known its 
geography. His map is the earliest extant showing the Gila, 
the Colorado, and southern Arizona, on the basis of actual 
exploration. His letters, diaries, and map, and his recently 
rediscovered History are indispensable sources for knowledge 
of the development of geographical ideas concerning California 
and for the early history of the region south of the Gila on 
both sides of the Gulf. 1 

Hitherto our knowledge of the work of Kino and his com- 
panions has come mainly from Ortega's Apostolicos Afanes 
de la Compania de Jesus (Barcelona, 1754; Mexico, 1887) 
Venegas (Burriel), Noticia de la California (Madrid, 1757) 
Alegre, Historia de la Compania de Jesus (Mexico, 1841) 
Manje, LUz de Tierra Incdgnita, libro II. (printed in Doc. Hist. 
Mex.j cuarta serie, tomo I., Mexico, 1856), and some of Kino's 
own writings. Of these the following is a list of those which 
have been known and available to modern scholars, eliminat- 
ing all duplications, all titles of doubtful authenticity, and all 
unpublished manuscripts whose whereabouts have not been 
ascertained : 

1. Exposition Astronomica de el Cometa (Mexico, 1681). 

2. "Tercera Entrada en 21 de Diciembre de 1683" (printed 
in Documentos para la Historia de Mexico, cuarta ser., I. 405- 
468 ; original manuscript in the archives of Mexico). 

3. A letter of May 13, 1687, "an einen unbenannten 

1 For a fuller statement concerning Kino bibliography, see Bolton, as above, 
and references cited therein. The following statement is taken mainly from that 
paper. 



INTRODUCTION 431 

Priester" (quoted in "Brief Patris Adami Gilg," in Stocklein, 
Neue Welt Bott, 1726). 

4. "Relation del estado de la Pimeria que remitte el P 6 
Visitador Horacio Polici : y es copia de Carta que le escribe 
el Capitan D n Christoval Martin Bernal," December 3 and 4, 
1697 (printed in Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera ser., IV. 797-809 ; 
original manuscript in the archives of Mexico). 

5. " Colocasion de nuestra S a de los Remedios en su nueva 
capilla De su nuevo pueblo de las Nuevas Conversiones de 
la Pimeria En 15 de Setiembre de 98 a s ," Nuestra Serlora de 
los Dolores, September 16, 1698 (printed under a wrong title 
in Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera ser., IV. 814-816 ; the title given 
above is that of the original manuscript in the archives of 
Mexico). 

6. "Carta Del padre Eusebio Kino, al padre visitador 
Horacio Polici, acerca de una entrada al Noroeste y mar de 
la California, en Compania del Capitan Diego Carrasco, actual 
teniente de esta dilatada Pimeria, que fue de ida y vuelta mas 
de trescientas leguas, a 22 de setiembre de 1698," signed at 
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, October 18, 1698 (printed in 
Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera ser., IV. 817-819. The above title is 
that of the original manuscript in the archives of Mexico). 

7. "Relation Diaria de la entrada al nortueste que fue de 
Yda y Buelta mas de 300 leguas desde 21 de setiembre hasta 
18 de otubre de 1698. Descubrimiento del desemboque del 
rio grande hala Mar de la California y del Puerto de S a Clara. 
Reduction de mas de 4000 almas de las Costas Bautismos de 
mas de 400 Parbulos 1698. Con Ensenanzas y Experienzias." 
(Unprinted. The above title is from the original in the archives 
of Mexico. Known hitherto only in the form of a manu- 
script copy at the end of libro I. of Luz de Tierra Incdgnita in 
the Biblioteca Nacional). 

8. "Breve relacion de la insigne victoria que los Pimas 
Sobaipuris en 30 de Marzo del Ano de 1698 han conseguido 



432 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA 

contra los enemigos de la Provincia de Sonora," May 3, 1698, 
postdated October 25 (printed in Doc. Hist. Mex., tercera ser., 
IV. 810-813. The above title is from the original manuscript 
in the archives of Mexico). 

9. Paso por tierra a la California y sus Confinantes Nuebas 
Naciones, etc., 1701. (This is Kino's famous map of Pimeria 
Alta, which has been printed in many editions.) 

10. Une lettre. (So cited by Sommervogel, as printed in 
Scherer's Geographia Hierarchica, Munich, 1702. As a matter 
of fact, the extract is not a single letter, "but a gathering of 
several letters" of Kino.) 

11. "Favores Celestiales de Jesus y de Maria SS ma y del 
Gloriosissimo Apostol de las Yndias," etc. (manuscript in the 
Archivo General y Publico, Mexico, Seccion de Misiones, vol. 
27). This manuscript is a history by Father Kino of his en- 
tire work and that of his companions in Pimeria Alta between 
1687 and 1710, with considerable attention to California 
affairs. It was used by the early Jesuit historians, especially 
Ortega, and is the principal source of all they wrote about 
Kino and his companions. It has been unknown to modern 
scholars until recently discovered by the present writer, and 
its existence actually denied. Part V. of this work is an 
"Ynforme y Relasion de los nuevos Comversiones de esta 
America Septentrional" (printed below), written in 1710. It 
is a general summary of all of Kino's work, with a statement 
of possibilities for future development. The entire work has 
been translated and edited for publication by the present 
writer, and, it is hoped, will soon appear in print. 



REPORT AND RELATION OF THE NEW CON- 
VERSIONS, BY EUSEBIO FRANCISCO KINO, 
1710 

Dedication 1 

To his royal Majesty, Philip V., God preserve him for many 

years : 

Your royal Majesty has ordered in your very Catholic 
cedula of July 17, 1701, which my Father Provincial of this 
New Spain as well as the Father Visitor of these missions of 
Sonora had sent me in printed form (in it being printed my 
name, though I do not deserve it, and the name of Father 
Juan Maria de Salvatierra), that report be made to your royal 
Majesty of the location and state of the heathen of this 
province of Sonora ; therefore, with this report unknown North 
America places itself at the sacred feet of your royal Majesty, 
for by means of the more than two hundred leagues of new 
conquests and new conversions, which have a compass or 
circumference of more than six hundred leagues and contain 
very fertile lands and new nations already very friendly, dis- 
covered in these last twenty-three years by the fathers of the 
Company of Jesus in more than fifty expeditions or missions 
which on different occasions they have made to the north, 
northeast, northwest, and west, some of which have been of 
fifty, seventy, ninety, one hundred, one hundred and fifty, two 
hundred and more leagues, there now remain very well reduced 
all these many nations. And they ask for fathers and holy 
baptism, and it would seem that they know very well what our 
Holy Mother, the Church, says to them on the first feast day 
in May, day of San Felipe and Santiago, 2 namely, that the 
Gentiles, desiring to see the Saviour of the world, came to 
Philip (Gentiles Salvatorem videre cupientes ad Philippum ac- 
cesserunt). And if in those times there was an apostolic Philip 

1 "Favores Celestiales de Jesus y de Maria SS ma y del Gloriosissimo Apostol 
de las Yndias," parte V. (Archivo General y Publico, Mexico, Misiones, vol. 27). 

2 St. Philip and St. James. 

433 



434 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

to whom the Gentiles drew near, it is very notorious that to- 
day also we have (and we of this unknown North America 
know it) our very grand and Catholic monarch Philip to whom 
these innumerable Gentiles come. 

May the sovereign Lord of the heavens preserve the life 
of your royal Majesty many happy years. Mission of Nuestra 
Senora de los Dolores, February 2, 1710. 

The sacred feet of your royal Majesty are kissed by your 
humble chaplain, 

Eusebio Francisco Kino. 

Report and relation of the new conversions of this North America 1 
which comprise more than two hundred leagues of fertile 
country j and extend to the recently discovered land route 2 to 
California, which is not an island but a peninsula, and is 
very populous, and to the very large Rio Colorado, which is 
the true Rio del Norte of the ancients; with new maps of 
these nations and of this North America, which hitherto has 
been regarded as unknown. Likewise, of the very great ad- 
vantage to both Majesties which even at small cost to the royal 
treasury can be secured by sending father laborers in the royal 
service to these new conversions, in which, in the opinion of 
prudent persons, can be formed a new kingdom, which can 
be called Kingdom of New Navarre. 

By Father Eusevio Francisco Kino, of the Company of Jesus, 
missionary for more than twenty-five years in the missions of 
California and these new missions and conversions of this 
province of Sonora. 

Book I. 

Of the Motives for writing this Report and Relation. 3 

For days and years many persons have asked of me maps, 
reports, and accounts of these new conversions, and although 
on various occasions I have given reports, at present they are 

1 That is, this part of North America. 

2 He refers to his own explorations between 1699 and 1706. 

3 In the manuscript the books are divided into chapters, with headings, in 
some cases nearly as long as the text. To save space the chapter headings 
have been omitted. Book I. is divided into five chapters. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 435 

pressing me more urgently, some of them alleging first the 
royal cedula of his Majesty, God preserve him, of July 17, 
1701, which orders that report be made to him of the state of 
California (which has been very well done by the printed 
report of Father Francisco Picolo), 1 and of the "state and 
location of these heathen Indians of these provinces of Sonora." 

In different letters our Father-General, Thyrzo Gon- 
zalez, 2 with other superiors, has asked of me reports of all 
edifying incidents that might happen, and of the celestial 
favors of our Lord which we might experience in these new 
conversions, since they are always a source of comfort to our 
people, in Europe especially, and of edification to those in 
foreign lands. 

Fray Manuel de la Oyuela, 3 of the Sacred Order of the 
Seraphic Father San Francisco, having a little more than a 
year ago come from his holy convent of Guadalaxara to these 
provinces of Sonora and to these new conversions, to ask alms, 
went with me on an expedition far enough to plainly sight the 
land route to California from the very high hill of Santa Clara, 4 
which is north of the head of the Sea of California, traversing 
in going and returning more than two hundred and fifty 
leagues of these fertile lands, among Indians so friendly, af- 
fable, and industrious that his Reverence said that in these 
new conquests and extensive new conversions a new kingdom 
could and should be founded. To this I replied that if this 
should come to pass I should rejoice if it were called New 
Navarre, in honor of the blessed land of the most glorious 
apostle of the Indies, San Francisco Xavier, my great patron, 
as other kingdoms are named New Viscaia, New Galicia, etc. 
Afterward, while on the way to Guadalaxara, within the last 
few months, his Reverence wrote me that if I did not make 
report of the ripeness of so great a harvest of souls an account 
of them would be required of me in the tribunal of God. 

1 Missionary in California, who took Kino's place there. He wrote a well- 
known report on the missions of Lower California in 1702, published in Lettres 
Edifiantes. 

2 Father Tirso Gonzalez, general of the Jesuits from 1687 to 1705. 

3 Father Oyuela accompanied Kino on the expedition of 1706. "Favores 
Celestiales," part IV., bk. IV. 

4 A mountain range west of Sonoita and near the head of the Gulf, reached 
by Kino several times. 



436 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

Two months ago Father Juan de Hurtassen, rector of the 
College of Vera Cruz, wrote me the following: "My Father 
Eusevio Francisco Kino, from Spain persons, to whom I can- 
not excuse myself, are writing me, asking an exact account of 
the provinces which your Reverence has discovered, to what 
degrees of latitude and longitude they extend, the disposition 
of the nations, what rivers and land they comprise, especially 
those which slope to California from south to north, and 
whether California is an island or a peninsula, or which view 
is more probable; what reports there are of the kingdom of 
La Quivira, in what latitude it is found, how far it is to the 
land of Jesso in that region, whether any rivers run into the 
Sea of the North, or all empty into the Sea of California, and, 
in fine, everything touching this matter; for they write me 
that upon this matter there is now much controversy in Madrid, 
with a variety of opinions. If everything can be shown on a 
map, so much the better. I have no doubt your Reverence 
will take this trouble; and, as I conjecture, perhaps it will 
contribute to the glory of God." 1 Some three weeks ago I 
received a very courteous and long letter from my Father 
Provincial of this New Spain, Juan de Estrada, in which his 
Reverence, among other things, writes me the following: "In 
regard to your Reverence's coming to Mexico to print the 
map, you will be needed in that Pimeria and new Christendom 
and catechumenical heathendom. We see that they print 
relations and maps of less consequence in France; and your 
Reverence may judge whether a map of more consequence and 
novelty, accompanied by some brief relation, with arguments 
and documents showing that the Californias are only penin- 
sulas, will move more the eagerness of the printers of France 
to make the map and print the written relation. I have found 
out that the Father Rector, Juan de Hurtassum, asks your 
Reverence for those maps that they may be printed in France, 
whence they are asking for them and for reports of new con- 
versions and lands, to put it all into print." Thus far the 
letter of my Father Provincial and the reasons for writing this 
brief report. 

1 This letter illustrates the lively interest taken in Kino's explorations. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 437 



Book II. 

Beginnings and Progress of the New Conquests and New Con- 
versions of the Heathendoms of this extensive Pimeria and 
of the other neighboring New Nations. 1 

It is well known that during almost two whole centuries 
the royal Catholic crown of Spain has spent more than two 
millions and a half for new conquests and new conversions and 
for the extension of the Holy Evangel, and for the eternal 
salvation of the souls of the Calif ornias ; but it appears that, 
thanks be to His Divine Majesty, the blessed time is now 
coming when not only the conquest and conversion of the 
Californias is being accomplished, but also at the same time 
that of these other neighboring extensive lands and nations 
of this North America, most of which has hitherto been un- 
known, and when the Lord is adding to the rather poor lands 
of the Californias the necessary succor of these very extensive 
and rich lands, abundant champaigns, and fertile rivers and 
valleys. 

The immense but very Catholic expenditures above- 
mentioned, which the sovereign Lord always most liberally 
repays, have been those of the various navigations and ex- 
peditions following : 

In the year 1533 Don Fernando Cortes, eleven years after 
having conquered Mexico, discovered California and entered 
into the port of Nuestra Senora de la Paz. 2 

In 1535 Don Anttonio Mendosa, first viceroy of this New 
Spain, sent to California General Francisco de Alarcon with 
twelve other high-decked ships, which, however, were all lost. 3 

In 1597 Sebastian Biscaino 4 went at his own expense to 
California with five religious of San Francisco. 

In 1602 he went a second time at the expense of Philip 
the Third with three religious of Nuestra Senora del Carmen, 
the Count of Monte Rey being viceroy. 

In 1606 there came to him a royal cedula that he should go 

1 Book II. is divided into nine chapters. 

2 Jimenez, sent out by Cortes, discovered California in 1533; Cortes at- 
tempted to found a colony on the Peninsula in 1535. 

3 Alarcon's voyage was made in 1540. 4 Vizcaino. 



438 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

to colonize at the port of Monte Rey, which, however, his 
death prevented. 

In 1615 Captain Juan Yturbi went with one ship. 

In the years 1632, 1633, and a little later, Captain Fran- 
cisco de Ortega went to California a first, second, and third 
time. 

About the year 1636 Captain Carboneli went. 

In 1642 Captain Luis Cestin de Canas went, taking with 
him Father Jacinto Cortes, of the Company of Jesus. 

In 1643 and 1644 Philip the Fourth sent Admiral Don 
Pedro Porter Casanate. 

In 1648 and 1649 he went a second time, taking with him 
Father Jasinto Cortes and Father Andres Baes, of the Com- 
pany of Jesus. 

In 1664, at the expense of his royal Majesty, Philip the 
Fourth, Admiral Bernardo Bernal de Pinadero went the first 
time, and in 1667 he went the second time, with borrowed 
money. 

In 1668 Captain Francisco Lusenilla went to California 
with two religious of San Francisco. 1 

In the years 1681, 1682, 1683, 1684, and 1685, at a cost to 
the royal treasury of more than half a million, by order of 
Don Carlos the Second, Admiral Don Ysidro de Atondo y 
Antillon, having built three ships, captain's ship, admiral's 
ship, and tender, in the Sinaloa River, went with the necessary 
soldiers and mariners to California; at the same time we, 
three missionary fathers of the Company of Jesus, went also, 
I going with the offices of rector of that mission and cosmog- 
rapher of his Majesty. In pursuance of that enterprise 2 we 
were some months at the post and bay of Nuestra Senora de 
la Paz in latitude twenty-four degrees, and more than a year 
at the Real de San Bruno, in latitude twenty-six degrees, 
whence we went to the opposite coast and the Sea of the South, 
about fifty leagues' journey. We left about four hundred souls 
reduced. And we having come to the harbor of Matanchel, 
of Nueva Galicia, to supply ourselves with some things which 

1 For accounts of the foregoing voyages see Bancroft, North Mexican States 
and Texas, chs. VII. , VIII., and authorities there cited; Venegas (Burriel), 
Noticia de la California, passim. 

2 Emjpesa, i. e., empresa. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 439 

we needed, the senor viceroy, Don Thomas, Marques de la 
Laguna, sent us to meet and warn and rescue the China ship, 
since at the same time the Pichilingues pirates were waiting in 
the port of La Navidad for the ship to rob it. Meeting her 
within two days, thanks be to the Lord, and putting to sea 
with her, so that she should neither come to land nor be seen 
by the enemies who were in the port of La Navidad, we all 
arrived in safety at the port of Acapulco, leaving the pirates 
mocked, and our Lord having rescued four or five millions for 
the royal crown and his loyal vassals without loss, in reward 
of the very Catholic expenditures which the royal monarchy 
makes in honor of His Divine Majesty and for the good of 
countless souls. 1 

We have also seen and now see at this very same time, and 
in the very years and months of the expenditures for this 
above-mentioned enterprise of California, how God our Lord 
has granted the discovery of the very rich mines of the camps 
which they call Los Frailes, Los Alamos, and Guadalupe. 
These posts are opposite, near to, and on the same parallels 
of twenty-five and twenty-six degrees as California, which 
through those Catholic expenditures was intended to be con- 
quered and is being conquered for our holy Catholic faith. 
The very richly laden China ship, or Philippine galleon, having 
unloaded, most of us went with the admiral from the port of 
Acapulco to the City of Mexico, where, within a few days, we 
having conferred in regard to the most suitable means for con- 
tinuing the conquest and conversion of California, an appro- 
priation of thirty thousand pesos 2 was assigned to us ; but the 
same week, when eighty thousand pesos had just come from 
Zacatecas, and they were about to give it to us and let us go, 
a ship came from Spain, which, with a most pressing order, 
asked five hundred thousand pesos, even though it should be 
borrowed, in order thereby to repay at once the damages done 
to a very richly laden French ship which a few years before 
had gone to the bottom in the Bay of Cadiz. Thereupon the 
conquest and conversion of California was suspended. 

As soon as I knew that the conversion of coveted California 

1 Kino's own account of his experiences in California is contained in his 
Tercera Entrada, listed on p. 430. That document, however, is a fragment. 

2 Dollars. 



440 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

was suspended, I asked and obtained from my superiors and 
his Excellency permission to come meanwhile to these heathen 
coasts nearest to and most in sight of California, to the Guai- 
mas and Seris ) l and I having arrived at the end of February, 
1687, in this province of Sonora, and gone to Opossura to see 
the Father Visitor, Manuel Gonzales, his Reverence came with 
me to this post of heathen Pimas, as the father of Cucurpe, 
near by, Joseph de Aguilar, was asking of him a father for 
them. 2 We named the place Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. 
It is in thirty-two degrees and a half of latitude. We entered 
March 12, 3 1687, accompanied by Father Joseph de Aguilar 
and his servants ; and the Father Visitor returning the follow- 
ing day to observe Holy Week in his pueblos, I went inland 
two hours after his departure with said Father Joseph de 
Aguilar and some guides, going ten leagues beyond Nuestra 
Senora de los Dolores, toward the west, to the good post and 
valley which we named de San Ygnacio, 4 where we found 
even more people, although they were somewhat scattered. 
We returned by the north through the rancheria of Himeres, 5 
which we named San Joseph, and through that of Doagibubig, 6 
which we named Nuestra Senora de los Remedios, which ran- 
cherias immediately, thanks be to the Lord, we began reducing 
to new good pueblos, making a beginning of teaching them 
the Christian doctrine and prayers, by means of a good in- 
terpreter and a good native helper, 7 whom I procured from the 
old Pima mission of Los Ures, 8 and of the building of the 
churches and houses, of crops, etc. 

Afterward I made other missions, or expeditions, to the 
north and farther to the west, and despatched friendly mes- 

1 He left Mexico City on November 20, 1686. 

2 This is the most specific explanation of the change of Father Kino's plans 
which I have seen. 

3 He elsewhere gives the date as the 13th. Dolores was situated on the San 
Miguel River, a few miles above Cupurpe. The ruins are on the hacienda of 
Dolores. They were visited by the editor in 1911. 

4 It still bears that name. It is over the mountains from Dolores, on the 
Southern Pacific Railroad. The Indian village where the mission was founded 
was called Caborica. 

6 Imuris, on the Southern Pacific Railroad a few miles north of San Ignacio. 
6 East of Imuris and north of Dolores. 7 Temastian. 

8 On the Sonora River east of Hermosillo. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 441 

sages inviting all the heathen of these environs to receive our 
holy Catholic faith for their eternal salvation, in imitation 
of these Pimas, their relatives and countrymen. Soon many 
came from various parts to see me for this purpose, and we 
arranged for the beginning of other new missions and pueblos. 
There came to see and to visit us, with great comfort on our 
part and his, Father Manuel Gonzales. He asked and obtained, 
through the senor alcalde mayor, four additional alms from the 
royal chest, for four other new missions for this extensive 
Pimeria ; and four other missionary fathers came to it at the 
time when I dedicated this my first and capacious church of 
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. 1 

Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra having entered in the 
year 1691 as visitor of these missions of Sinaloa and Sonora, 
his Reverence came in December from Chinipas to visit us ; 
and, seeing in his holy visit to these new missions such fertile, 
abundant, and pleasant lands, valleys and rivers, he expressed 
the opinion that they were the richest he had seen in all the 
missions, to which I replied that it appeared to me also that 
these lands, so rich, might be the relief and support of the 
somewhat sterile and poor California, where we left so many 
souls scattered and lost and who were still asking us for holy 
baptism ; and we planned to make every endeavor to effect 
the return with all possible haste to continue said conquests 
and conversions. 2 His Reverence, with his holy zeal, imme- 
diately, even before setting out from these Pima missions, 
made a very good report to his royal Majesty and his royal 
ministers; and, although in the beginning there were diffi- 
culties and delays, in the year 1697 3 said Father Juan Maria 

1 Father Luis Pinilla took charge of San Ignacio, Santa Maria Magdalena, 
and San Miguel del Tupo ; Father Antonio Arras of San Pedro del Tubutama 
and San Antonio de Uquitoa; Father Pedro de Sandoval of San Lorenzo del 
Saric and San Antonio del Tucubabia ; and Father Juan del Castillo of Cocospera, 
San Lazaro, and Santa Maria. Most of these pueblos were farther north than 
Dolores. " Favores Celestiales," pt. L, bk. L, ch. 7. 

2 The most notable event of Salvatierra's visitation was his journey with 
Kino over the divide into the valley of the Santa Cruz River. This was the 
first recorded expedition into Arizona from the south since the time of Coronado. 
They went as far north as Tumacacori. "Favores Celestiales," pt. L, bk. II., 
chs. 1-2. 

3 In the meantime Kino had done great work in Pimeria Alta, of which he 
says little in this report. In 1692 he again entered Arizona, going to the impor- 



442 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

de Salvatierra, availing himself of the alms which he had se- 
cured among faithful, pious persons, obtained a license from 
the senor viceroy, Don Sarmiento de Valladares y Montesuma, 
permitting his Reverence and me to go to California. For 
this purpose his Reverence came from Mexico to the missions 
of Sinaloa and Hyaqui, provided with all that was necessary 
from Mocorito de Sinaloa. He informed me of his arrival, 
and of having accomplished the desired purpose that we two 
should go to California, sending me the very pleasing letter of 
the Father Provincial, Juan de Palacios, in regard to the mat- 
ter. Thereupon I immediately reported to the Father Visitor, 
Horacio Polise, and set out to go to Hyaqui and our best be- 
loved California. But, although I was going most gladly, 
they detained me over here as being necessary, as the Father 
Visitor, Horacio Polise, and the sefior governor of arms and 
alcalde mayor of this province of Sonora, Don Domingo 
Xironsa Petriz de Cruzatt, 1 wrote me by messenger. Father 
Francisco Maria Picolo went in my place to California, and 
afterwards made a glorious report* of the good state of Cali- 
fornia, which, thanks be to our Lord, goes on being so happily 
conquered and converted that other better pens than mine 
consider and will consider it well to write of its apostolic mis- 
sions. 

Remaining, as I did, over here, with the sole relief and 

tant village of Bac, where later he founded the mission of San Xavier, and visiting 
the San Pedro valley (" Favores Celestiales," pt. I., bk. II., ch. 3). In the same 
year he went down the Altar valley to the coast (ibid., ch. 5). Next year, ac- 
companied by Lieutenant Juan Matheo Manje, he again went to the coast and 
at Caborca began the building of a boat for navigating the Gulf. In the same 
year his church at Dolores was dedicated. In 1694 he made two or three jour- 
neys to Caborca, where he founded a mission in which he established Father 
Saeta. In November, 1694, he went north and discovered the Casa Grande, on 
the Gila River, of which he left an interesting description. By 1695 the mis- 
sions had become important enough to be formed into the separate rectorate of 
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, Father Marcos Antonio Kapus being first rector. 
In that year the Pimas revolted and destroyed the missions of the Altar valley, 
and Kino played an important part in quieting the Indians. As soon as this 
had been effected he went (1695) to Mexico City to get funds for the mainland 
and to urge the conversion of California. Father Salvatierra went at the same 
time, for the same purpose. Kino secured a promise of new missionaries, and 
as soon as he returned to Dolores, in May, 1696, he made new journeys 
northward to prepare for them. 

1 Governor of New Mexico from 1683 to 1686. 2 See p. 435, note 1. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 443 

comfort of the hope that, availing myself of the licenses which 
Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra had just brought me from 
Mexico from the Father Provincial and from his Excellency, I 
also was able from here to find and open a way to the same 
California and to its reduction, in latitudes thirty, thirty-one, 
thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five or more de- 
grees. For this purpose I made various missions, or ex- 
peditions, to the west and to the coast of the Sea of California. 
I undertook the building of a little vessel, in sections, part 
here at Nuestra Senora de los Dolores and part at La Con- 
cepsion de Nuestra Senora de Caborca, which is about fifteen 
leagues distant from the Sea of California, and from whose 
coasts flames and smokes in the Californias can be seen. 
Afterwards, however, since by the divine grace, through dif- 
ferent expeditions which I made, to the northwest in particular, 
I discovered that in latitude thirty-four and one-half degrees 
the Sea of California ended completely, I suspended the build- 
ing of the vessel. 

In general, in these twenty-one years, up to the present 
time, I have made from the first pueblo of Nuestra Senora 
de los Dolores more than forty expeditions to the north, west, 
northwest, and southwest, of fifty, eighty, one hundred, two 
hundred, and more leagues, sometimes accompanied by other 
fathers, but most of the time with only my servants and with 
the governors, captains, and caciques of different rancherias 
or incipient pueblos from here and from the interior. 

To the north and northeast I have travelled 1 on different 
occasions more than one hundred and thirty leagues to Casa 

1 He encontrado, i. e., entrado. In December, 1696, and several times in 
1697 Kino went to the valleys of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro and began the 
founding of stock ranches to support future missions. In the fall of 1697 he went 
with Captain Bernal and a guard of soldiers down the San Pedro to the Gila, 
returning by San Xavier del Bac. In 1698 he went again to the Gila and returned 
by way of Sonoita and Caborca. In 1699 he went northward by way of Sonoita 
and along the Gila Range to the lower Gila, which he ascended to Casa Grande. 
In the fall of 1699 a visit was made to San Xavier del Bac and Sonoita. In 
April, 1700, he went to Bac and founded there the mission of San Xavier. In 
the fall of the same year he reached the Yuma junction. In 1701 he made an 
expedition with Salvatierra to the Santa Clara Mountain near the head of the 
Gulf. In the fall of the same year he descended the Colorado to the Quiquimas 
and crossed to the California side. In 1702 he again descended the Colorado 
and reached the Gulf. 



444 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

Grande, which is a building of the ancients of Montesuma, 
who set out from those lands when they went to found the 
City of Mexico, and to the Rio Grande, or Rio de Hila, 1 which 
issues from the confines of New Mexico through the Apacheria, 
and comes to these our Pimas Sobaiporis, and afterwards 
flows more than one hundred leagues to the west by the Co- 
comaricopas and Yumas, until it unites with the most volu- 
minous Colorado River, which is the true Rio del Norte of 
the ancients. And I have penetrated to the borders and in 
plain sight of the Apacheria, which intervenes between this 
extensive Pimeria and the province of Moqui and Zuni. 

To the westward of New Mexico with different fathers, 
Father Agustln de Campo, Father Marcos Antonio Kappus, 
and Father Geronimo Minutuli, I have penetrated the seventy 
leagues extending to the Sea of California, and far enough to 
get a very plain view of more than twenty-five leagues of con- 
tinuous land of California. And now they have their missions 
well founded: Father Agustin de Campos at San Ignacio, 
San Joseph de Himires, and Santa Maria Madalena; and 
Father Geronimo Minutuli at San Pedro y San Pablo del 
Tubutama, Santa Tereza, and San Antonio del Uquitoa. 
Besides, there are good beginnings of baptisms, building of 
churches and houses, cattle, sheep and goats, horses, sowings 
and harvests of wheat, maize, beans, etc., in the new pueblo 
of Nuestro Senora de la Conzepzion del Caborca, at San An- 
tonio de Busanic, and in other parts. 

To the northwest I have travelled more than two hundred 
leagues, to the head of the Sea of California, where enters the 
very voluminous, populous, and fertile Colorado River, which 
is the true Rio del Norte of the ancients, and the river which 
Francis Drake and his followers called del Coral, as he calls 
the other, the Hila River, 2 which issues through the borders 
of this Pimeria, the Tizon River. 

It is true that on its banks and in its vicinity it has many 
fire-brands, 3 which the natives in cold weather carry in 
their hands, warming the pit of the stomach to relieve their 
nakedness. At eight or nine in the morning, when the sun 
usually warms up a little, they throw them away, of which I 
have been an eye-witness. But Drake is very much in error in 

1 Gila. 2 Gila. 3 Tizones. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 445 

his fabulous demarkation, in which he very wrongly depicts 
California as an island, saying that its sea extends up to the 
Sea of the North and the much talked of Strait of Anian, for 
in these ten years, in fourteen expeditions which I made for 
this purpose, we have plainly discovered that this Sea of 
California extends no farther than to thirty-four degrees and 
a half of latitude, where there is plainly a passage to Cali- 
fornia. By it there continually come to us many of those 
blue shells 1 which are produced only on the opposite coast of 
the above-mentioned California and South Sea, whereby every 
year the ship from China is accustomed to come. 

On one of these journeys to the northwest Father Adamo 
Jilg went with me to the Huma 2 nation, by order of the Father 
Visitor Horasio Polise; 3 and Father Juan Maria de Salva- 
tierra, who since has been most deservedly Father Provincial 
of this Province of New Spain, went to San Marcelo del Sonoy- 
dag, and far enough to catch a sight of the closing of these their 
lands at the head of the Sea of California. 4 Father Manuel 
Gonzales went with me to the very mouth of the large Colorado 
River ; 5 and only a year and a half ago Fray Manuel de la 
Oyuela, of the Sacred Order of San Francisco, went with me 
to the very high hill of Santa Clara, 6 which is exactly north 7 
of the head of the Sea of California, and from which it is seen 
most plainly that this sea ascends no higher up, and that 
California has a continental connection with this mainland of 
New Spain. Of the truth of this his Reverence, with Ensign 
Juan Mateo Ramires and Commander Juan Duran, gave me 
a sworn certificate. 

From two other journeys which I made, one to the north 
and the other to the west, it came about that more than 
twenty governors and captains of this extensive Pimeria came 

1 In 1699, while on the Gila above the Yuma junction, Kino was given a 
present of some blue shells, which became the inspiration for a new series of 
explorations. He reasoned that if these shells came from the Pacific Ocean, 
there must be land connection with California. With this conviction, he made 
his journeys of 1701 and 1702. 

2 Yuma. 

3 Father Gilg went on the expedition of February and March, 1699. 

4 In 1701. They went to the seacoast west of Sonoita. 

6 In 1702. e In 1706. 

7 It is considerably south of east from the very head of the Gulf. 



446 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

from fifty, seventy, ninety, and more than one hundred leagues' 
journey to this pueblo of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores to 
ask of me fathers and holy baptism for all the people of their 
rancherias. And, I having suggested to them that those 
fathers must be asked from the Father Visitor, who was 
about one hundred leagues from here, they asked me to give 
them guides to go with them, that they might go there to ask 
the means for their salvation ; so I had to go with them for 
that purpose as far as Santa Maria de Baseraca, 1 ninety-six 
leagues beyond, to see the Father Visitor, Horacio Police, 
who, particularly since then, has always been most sym- 
pathetic toward and fond of these new conversions. He con- 
soled them as best he could, receiving them with all affection, 
promising them that he would do his very best to secure for 
them the necessary missionary fathers desired, and they asked 
them from Mexico of the Father Provincial, Juan de Palacios. 
In his new and large church of Santa Maria de Baseraca the 
Father Visitor catechised and baptized one of the captains, 
who was named Marcos, after his godfather, the governor of 
Baseraca, and who aided us generously, particularly in all the 
environs of his incipient pueblo of San Ambrosio del Busanic. 
The Father Visitor, Horacio Polise, in thanksgiving for the 
comfort which he felt in the coming of so many new people, 
although it was in October, chanted a solemn mass to the 
three holy kings, who were the first to see and recognize and 
adore the Redeemer of the world; 2 for some of them came 
more than two hundred leagues, and, with as many more 
which they had to travel in return to their homes, the distance 
was more than four hundred. His Reverence wrote to the 
senor governor of the arms of this province that he also ought 
to try to inform himself of the good state of this Pima nation, 
since if it were promoted it would be very advantageous for 
everything, and especially to restrain the enemies of this 
province of Sonora, the Hocomes and Apaches. His Lord- 
ship therefore sent twenty-two soldiers to Quiburi, 3 whither 
we went and found Captain Coro, who with his people was 
dancing over the scalps of some hostile Hocomes whom he had 
killed a little while before. 4 

1 This was in 1697. 2 Primitice Gentium. 

8 In 1697 under Captain Bernal. 

4 Quiburi was in the San Pedro valley near the present Mexican border. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 447 

On this occasion, when I made a mission, or journey, to the 
neighboring Pimas Sobaiporis, and met the twenty-two sol- 
diers and their captain, Christoval Martin Bernal, since it was 
said that in the interior there were horses stolen from this 
province of Sonora, and since I knew the contrary to be the 
fact, and that not these Pimas but the Hocomes, Apaches, and 
Janos were the ones who were committing these injuries, 
stealing horses from this province and its frontiers, I took 
them with me, that they might become eye-witnesses to the 
very friendly and good state of all these Pimas Sobaiporis. 
Their principal cacique and captain, called Aumaric [Huma- 
ne], 1 had come with his two sons two years before to Nuestra 
Senora de los Dolores to be catechised and baptized, and he 
was named Francisco ; and his elder son was named Fran- 
cisco Xavier, and the other son Horasio Polise. 

We entered together from Santa Ana de Quibori by the 
valley and river of San Joseph de Terrenate, 2 Captain Coro 
also accompanying us. We arrived by the same river at the 
very pleasant valley of the Pimas Sobaipuris, and at the Rio 
Grande de Hila, the above-mentioned Captain Francisco 
Humari coming more than thirty leagues to meet and receive 
us, with his two sons, one of whom was governor and the other 
alcalde of his great rancheria of San Fernando. In no place 
did we find the least trace of horses stolen from this province 
of Sonora. Everywhere they received us with crosses and 
with arches erected on the roads, and with various gifts, and 
with their many viands. By the Hila River we descended 
more than forty leagues farther to the west, to the Casa Grande 
and to La Encarnacion del Tusconimo, 3 where we were re- 
ceived with much joy on his part and on ours, with many 
crosses and with many arches placed on the roads, by the 
captain of that great rancheria, who was called Juan de Pa- 
lasios, for we had given him this name of the actual Father 
Provincial at his baptism, he being one of those who two 
months before had gone to Santa Maria de Baseraca to see 
the Father Visitor Horacio Polise. 

Afterwards we returned by the extensive valley of the 
other Pimas Sobaiporis to the west, namely, San Francisco 
Xavier del Baac of the Rio de Santa Maria ; 4 and coming by 

1 From near the Gila River. 2 The San Pedro. 

3 Villages on the Gila near Casa Grande. 4 The Santa Cruz. 



448 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

San Caietano, San Gabriel de Guebavi, 1 San Luiz de Bacoancos, 
and Santiago de Cocospera, to this pueblo of Nuestra Seiiora 
de los Dolores, we went also to the neighboring pueblos of 
Cucurpe and Toape, where was found Father Melchor Bar- 
tiromo. 

Hearing that we had found those more than seven thousand 
Pima Sobaiporis so friendly, and disposed to receive our holy 
Catholic faith, and without the very least trace of hostilities, 
or of having stolen horses, and that in almost all places they 
received us with arches and with crosses placed on the roads, 
and with their many provisions, and that they had given us 
more than seventy little ones to baptize, and that we had 
given more than sixty staffs of office to justices, governors, 
captains, alcaldes, fiscales, constables, 2 etc., and that the 
principal captain of these natives, Humaric, had come more 
than thirty leagues to meet and receive us, said Father 
Melchor de Bartiromo chanted another solemn mass at Toape 
to Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, in thanksgiving for so 
happy a result and for the great ripeness of that harvest of 
so many souls. 

In all the more than forty journeys or missions which I 
made into the interior, through the teaching of the Christian 
doctrine and the love and fear of God, in order that the poor 
natives may arrive at eternal good fortune and escape from 
the eternal fires, and through the charitable, paternal, and 
good treatment which according to our holy institute we 
have attempted to give these poor Indians, they have al- 
ways given me many little ones to baptize. In the first 
journey or mission, which, coming from the Rio Grande, 
from the north to the south, I made to these coasts of the Sea 
of California, 3 where they never had seen any white face or 
Spanish person in the eighty leagues of coast which I travelled, 
more than five thousand Indians being reduced, they gave me 
four hundred and thirty-five infants to baptize in the great 
rancheria alone which we named San Francisco. 4 On the 4th 

1 In the Santa Cruz valley, a few miles northeast of Nogales. The ruins 
of the mission founded by Kino were still visible in 1911, and were seen by the 
present writer. San Cayetano and San Luis de Bacoancos were both in the Santa 
Cruz valley, with Guebavi between them. 

' 2 Topilea. 3 That of 1698. 4 San Francisco del Adid. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 449 

of October, after mass, they gave me one hundred and two 
little ones to baptize ; and in the afternoon, at the neighboring 
rancheria which followed it, and which we named San Serafin, 
they gave me sixty others. When two years afterwards the 
Father Visitor, Anttonio Leal, 1 in his holy and apostolic 
visit, penetrated, with Father Francisco Gonzalvo and me, 
more than eighty leagues northward and went as far as San 
Francisco Xavier del Baac of the Sobaiporis, and as far as 
San Augustin, 2 and returned by the westward, he arrived at 
San Serafin and San Francisco, solemnizing several baptisms 
in different places, greatly consoling and edifying all this ex- 
tensive Pimeria and its neighboring nations; and at San 
Serafin and San Francisco the little ones whom I had previ- 
ously baptized received his Reverence with their little crosses 
in their hands, a great number of which were afterwards 
collected, some being given to the Father Visitor and others 
to me. Those which they gave me I took to Nuestra Sefiora 
de los Dolores. The Father Visitor, with his paternal holy 
zeal, was captivated by, and looked always with his very 
warm love and affection upon these new conversions and these 
holy new Pima missions ; and having visited this one of 
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, that of San Ygnacio, and that 
of San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama, he aided us to secure 
some fathers for the rest. 3 

With all these expeditions or missions which have been made 
to a distance of two hundred leagues in these new heathen- 
doms in these twenty-one years, there have been brought to 
our friendship and to the desire of receiving our holy Catholic 
faith, between Pimas, Cocomaricopas, Yumas, Quiquimas, 4 
etc., more than thirty thousand souls, there being sixteen thou- 

1 In 1699. 

2 San Agustin del Oyaut, north of where Tucson now stands. Across the 
river and farther south was San Cosme del Tucson. 

3 They came in 1701. Father Juan de San Martin took charge of the mis- 
sion of Guebavi, with San Cayetano and San Luis as visitas ; Father Francisco 
Gonzalez took charge of San Xavier del Bac; Father Ygnacio de Yturmende 
went to Tubutama, and Father Gaspar de los Barrilas went to Caborca. " Favores 
Celestiales," pt. II., bk. II., ch. 13. Bancroft maintains that there were no resi- 
dent missionaries in Arizona in Kino's day, but this shows that he was mistaken. 

4 The three tribes last named were all Yuman, living on the lower Colorado 
and the lower Gila rivers. See Hodge, Handbook, under the respective names. 



450 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

sand of Pimas alone. I have solemnized more than four 
thousand baptisms, and I could have baptized ten or twelve 
thousand Indians more if the lack of father laborers had not 
rendered it impossible for us to catechise them and instruct 
them in advance. 1 But if our Lord sends, by means of his 
royal Majesty and of the superiors, the necessary fathers for 
so great and so ripe a harvest of souls, it will not be difficult, 
God willing, to achieve the holy baptism of all these souls 
and of very many others, on the very populous Colorado 
River, as well as in California Alta, and at thirty-five degrees 
latitude and thereabouts, for this very great Colorado River 
has its origin at fifty-two degrees latitude. 2 

And here I answer the question asked of me in the letter 
of the Father Rector Juan Hurtasum, 3 as to whether some 
rivers run into the North Sea or all empty into the Sea of 
California, by saying that as this Colorado River, which is the 
Rio del Norte of the ancients, carries so much water, it must 
be that it comes from a high and remote land, as is the case 
with the other large-volumed rivers of all the world and 
terraqueous globe ; therefore the other rivers of the land of 
fifty-two degrees latitude probably have their slope toward 
the Sea of the North, where Husson 4 wintered. Some more 
information can be drawn from the maps which I add to this 
report ; and in order not to violate the brevity which I prom- 
ised herein, I will add only that in regard to the fourteen 
journeys for two hundred leagues to the northwest, I have 
written a little treatise of about twenty-five sheets which is 
entitled " Cosmographical Proof that California is not an 
Island but a Peninsula/' 5 etc. ; and that of these new discov- 
eries and new conversions in general, by order of our Father- 
General, Thirso Gonzales, I am writing another and more 
extensive treatise, with maps, of which more than one hun- 
dred sheets are already written. By suggestion of his Rever- 
ence it is entitled " Celestial Favors of Jesus Our Lord, and of 
Mary Most Holy, and of the most Glorious Apostle of the 

1 Ortega, and others who follow him, state that Kino baptized more than 
forty thousand Indians. This is the result of adding a cipher to Kino's own 
figures, which he more than once gives as four thousand. 

2 In reality, about 43° 20' N. 3 See page 436. 4 Hudson. 
6 So far as the editor knows, this is not extant. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 451 

Indies, San Francisco Xavier, experienced in the New Con- 
versions of these New Nations of these New Heathendoms of 
this North America. " * 



Book III. 

Of the very great Advantage to both Majesties which can be secured 
by the Promotion of these New Conquests and Conversions, 
on account of the many great Benefits and Utilities which they 
'promise. 2 

For many years this province of Sonora has suffered very 
much from its avowed enemies, the Hocomes, Janos, and 
Apaches, 3 through continual thefts of horses and cattle, and 
murders of Christian Indians and Spaniards, etc., injuries 
which in many years not even the two expensive presidios, 
that of Janos 4 and that of this province of Sonora, have been 
able to remedy completely, for still these enemies continue to 
infest, as always, all this province of Sonora, with their ac- 
customed murders and robberies and their very notorious 
and continual hostilities. They have already reached and 
they now go as far as Acenoquipe, in the Valley of Sonora 
itself ; and as far as Tuape in the Valley of Opodepe ; 5 and 
as far as San Ygnacio and Santa Maria Magdalena in this 
Pimeria. 

But, by founding very good missions for them in these 
new conquests and conversions, particularly in the good 
eastern valley of the great valley of Santa Ana de Hiburi, 6 
where Captain Coro is at present, 7 who already is a Christian 
and is called Anttonio Leal, a great restraint can be placed 
upon these enemies, who are accustomed to live in the neigh- 
boring sierras of Chiguicagui ; and by fortifying for said Cap- 
tain Coro his great rancheria for a new pueblo, as shortly, 
God willing, we shall fortify him for the protection of Santa 

1 See the titles listed on page 432. 

2 Book III. is divided into twelve chapters. 

3 Tribes living in general to the northeast of Dolores. 

4 Janos is in northern Chihuahua. 

5 Tuape and Opodepe were in the San Miguel River valley, south of Dolores. 

6 Quiburi. The San Pedro valley in Arizona is meant. 

7 The principal Indian chieftain of that region. 



452 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

Maria Baseraca, he will continue better his accustomed ex- 
peditions against these enemies ; and he will be able to chas- 
tise them, as he is accustomed to do, winning very good vic- 
tories, as always, and even much greater, for the total relief 
of this province of Sonora, just as when a few years ago 1 he 
killed at one blow more than two hundred of those enemies, 
and as four months ago, in the expedition which he made in 
pursuit of those who were carrying off cattle and horses from 
the Real de Bacanuche, 2 he killed fifteen adult enemies and 
carried off ten little prisoners. One of them I have here in 
my house. One of them, having baptized and catechised 
them, I named Joan Miguel, which are the names of our 
Father-General and of the Provincial ; the other I named 
Phelipe, in honor of our very Catholic monarch, God save him. 

The promotion of these new conversions will serve also 
for the advancement, good government, and good administra- 
tion of the many more missions which can be founded farther 
on, for there are prudent and weighty persons, zealous for the 
service of the Majesties, who are of the opinion that in these 
more than two hundred leagues of new rich lands, inhabited 
by Indians industrious and newly conquered and reduced, a 
new kingdom can with ease be founded, which can be called 
New Navarre, as others are called New Viscaia, New Galisia, 
New Kingdom of Leon, etc. 

By promoting the new conversions of this extensive Pime- 
ria, with the favor of Heaven we shall be able shortly to enter 
upon the reduction and conversion of the neighboring Apa- 
cheria, 3 which lies to the north and northeast of us, and ex- 
tends northwest to the very large Colorado River, or Rio del 
Norte, above the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh 
degrees of latitude and beyond, for we know that it flows 
from northeast to southwest and issues about ten leagues 
west of the province of Moqui ; 4 for, we having sent messages 
to those natives up the Colorado River, already they invite 
us to enter to see them, and already they give us certain re- 
ports that soon, in imitation of the rest over here, they will 

1 In 1698. See list of Kino's writings, no. 8, on p. 431, above. 

2 A mining camp in the Sonora River valley east of Dolores, and north of 
Arispe. 

3 The whole body of Apaches. 4 The Hopi, in northeastern Arizona. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 453 

become reduced to our friendship and to the desire of receiving 
our holy Catholic faith. 

By way of the same Apacheria, which is in thirty-two de- 
grees latitude, we shall be able, with the divine grace, to enter 
to trade with New Mexico and with its nearest provinces, 
Moqui and Zuni, for on an average it is not more than forty 
or fifty leagues, which is the distance at thirty-four degrees 
latitude, where live our already well-subdued and domestic 
Pimas Sobaiporis of San Fernando, the most remote, at the 
junction of the rivers Hila and San Joseph de Terrenate, or 
de Quiburi; at latitude thirty-six degrees, where are the 
provinces of Moqui and Zuni ; and as far as thirty-seven de- 
grees, in which is found the Villa of Santa Fe of New Mexico ; 
for we have also certain reports that before the revolt of New 
Mexico 1 the Spaniards of those provinces used to come by 
way of Apacheria to these our most remote Pimas Sobaiporis 
to barter hatchets, cloth, sackcloth, blankets, chomite, knives, 
etc., for maize. 

With the promotion of these new conversions not only 
will the Christian settlements already formed, new and old, 
have more protection, and be defended by them, as has been 
suggested, but at the same time a way will be opened to many 
other new conquests and new conversions, in many other 
more remote new lands and nations of this still somewhat 
unknown North America: as for example, to the northward, 
to the Gran Teguayo ; to the northwest, to the Gran Qui- 
bira ; 2 and to the west, to California Alta, of this our same 
latitude of thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six degrees, and 
farther, and to its opposite coast and the South Sea ; and to 
its great Bay of the Eleven Thousand Virgins ; 3 to the famous 
port of Monte Rey, which is in neighboring and fertile lands 
(and a royal cedula came to Sebastian Biscaino that he should 
go to colonize it), and to the very renowned Cape Mendozino. 

1 The Pueblo uprising in New Mexico in 1680. 

2 Gran Teguayo and Gran Quivira were two geographical names which 
persisted in Spanish-American geography until the nineteenth century. They 
were always assigned to regions northward of New Mexico, but were variously 
shifted about by different writers and map-makers. See indexes of Bancroft; 
Arizona and New Mexico ; Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast, II. ; Bancroft, 
North Mexican States and Texas, II. 

3 Port San Quentin. See Vizcaino documents, pp. 73-76, above. 



454 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

At the same time, after having entered to Moqui and New- 
Mexico, to the northwest and the east, it will be possible to 
have communication with New France, and with the new con- 
quests, conversions, and missions which at present they are 
making with their glorious and apostolic journeys from east 
to west. And if we enter to the north and northeast, and 
afterwards turn to the east, it will be possible to open a way 
to Europe from these new conquests and conversions of this 
North America where we are, only half as long as the road 
which we now have and are accustomed to travel, by way of 
the City of Mexico and the Port of Vera Cruz ; for if the one 
road is much more than two thousand leagues, the other will 
be little more than a thousand. 1 

Just as to the northeast and east of this North America 
we shall be able to have a shorter road to Europe, in the same 
way we shall be able to have by the northwest and the west a 
convenient land route to Asia, and to Great Tartary and to 
Great China, since to the westward of Cape Mendocino and 
connected therewith follows the land of Jesso; afterwards 
comes the land which they call Tierra de la Compania (may 
our Lord grant that some day it may be of the Company of 
Jesus and converted to our holy Catholic faith) and the land 
nearest to Japan ; and afterward the narrow Strait of Anian, 
which is no more than ten or twelve leagues across, and has 
the convenience of an island in the middle by which to pass to 
Great Tartary, and from there to Great China. For lately 
the very learned author of the very curious New Geographic 
Mirror, 2 Don Pedro de Mendosa, gentleman of the Order of 
Calatrabe, 3 notes that a few years ago Father Grimaldi, of our 
Company, having gone from Great China to Great Tartary, 
near those places and countries, learned that the sea, where I 
know that the Strait of Anian enters, was no farther distant 
than forty days' journey. And it is patent that there is no 
other Strait of Anian than this which I here mention, for al- 
though Drake, in order to carry his point that California was 
an island, would feign another Strait of Anian with another 
much-talked-of Sea of the North over here above California, 

1 To open a northeastern route to Europe by way of the northern interior 
had long been contemplated. 

2 Nuevo Espejo Geogrdfico. 3 Calatrava. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 455 

and that he had turned back from his navigation, yet it is all 
false. 

Another great advantage of much value to both Majesties 
will be that these new conversions and this province of Sonora 
and all the kingdom of Nueva Biscaia, by way of the Rio 
Grande, or Hila, which is that of El Tison, and by the land 
route to California will be able to provide a port of call to the 
China ship, 1 and trade with her, and succor with fresh food 
persons sick with the very painful disease of scurvy which she 
is accustomed to bring with her, originating from their salt, 
dry, and stale food, and all with very great advantages and 
gains for all, obviating the very long and costly transporta- 
tion of many of their goods from these latitudes above thirty 
degrees to the port of Acapulco and from Acapulco to Mexico, 
and to these provinces of Nueva Biscaya, etc. And this 
port of call, with all due deference to the navigators of the 
China ship, it appears, might be at the Bay of Todos Santos, 
or at the famous neighboring port of San Diego of the opposite 
coast, which are at about the same latitude (though a little 
below) as the passage by land to California, that is, at thirty- 
five degrees. 

There are royal cedulas and royal provisions which charge 
us to report the new heathendoms, and happily we shall com- 
ply with them if we try to secure, as is so just, the promotion 
of these new conversions. The new royal cedula of our very 
Christian, very Catholic monarch, Philip the Fifth, God save 
him many happy years, of July 17, 1701, orders that report be 
made to him not only of the state of the new conversions of 
California, which already has been very well executed in the 
exact printed report by Father Francisco Maria Picolo, but 
"also of the location and state of the uncivilized heathen In- 
dians of this province of Sonora." 

And the royal cedula of his immediate predecessor, Don 
Carlos the Second, God rest his soul, charges the same, as given 
me by the royal Audiencia of Guadalaxara inserted in my royal 
provision when twenty-one years ago I came from California 
and from Mexico to these new conversions of this extensive 
Pimeria. It is dated at Buen Retiro, May 4, 1686. With 
this royal cedula his royal Majesty relieves his conscience, and 

1 The Manila galleon. 






456 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

that of the royal council, by charging the consciences of those 
of us who live over here near and bordering upon these heathen 
nations in order to seek the means for the eternal salvation 
of so many souls in this North America who live in such 
helplessness and even neglect, as the royal cedula expresses it, 
as hitherto has been unknown, in a matter so very essential, 
and by commanding that all the time possible be gained for 
him therein without sparing expense, since it is plainly recog- 
nized that our Lord always repays well known and very much 
augmented increase to the royal crown. All these are words 
from the royal cedula. 1 

It is plain, moreover, that by the Catholic promotion of these 
new conquests and conversions, or the new kingdoms of this 
New Navarre, the Catholic empire of the Catholic royal crown 
and of our holy mother, the Roman Catholic Church, is hap- 
pily extended, so that happily all the world may be one fold 
with one shepherd, 2 and this, by the divine grace, without 
great expenditure from the royal chests, and with only the 
accustomed alms for the missionary fathers, because the na- 
tives are so reduced and so domestic that they themselves, 
even without the expense of sustaining soldiers, are able to 
inflict and do inflict very exemplary punishment of whatever 
evil, crime, theft, adultery, or murder which may or is accus- 
tomed to happen. 

At the same time we hope, God willing, that by means of 
our superiors over here in Mexico, and those in Madrid and 
Rome, we shall bring it about that his Holiness will grant to 
all the benefactors and promoters of these new conquests and 
new conversions some very favorable indulgences, and fullest 
rejoicing 3 in life and for the hour of death ; and that also his 
royal Majesty, God save him for many years, will be pleased to 
honor the benefactors and promoters with immunities, priv- 
ileges, and exemptions, from his royal magnificence and mag- 
nanimous liberality. And perhaps of these benefactors there 

1 This cedula is quoted in full in "Favores Celestiales," pt. I., bk. I., ch. 2. 
The date is given there as May 14, 1689. Kino does not here quote exactly, but 
only in substance. 

2 Utt (i. e.) ut fiat unum ovile et unus pastor. Cf. John x. 16. 

3 Jubileos plenisimos. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 457 

may be founded a pious congregation of Mary Most Holy 
and of the Twelve Disciples, as it is said there is one in 
Peru. 

If we continue with the promotion and advancement of 
these new conversions, we shall be able to continue to make 
correct maps of this North America, the greater part of which 
has hitherto been unknown, or practically unknown, for some 
ancients blot the map with so many and such errors and with 
such unreal grandeurs and feigned riches as a crowned king 
whom they carry in chairs of gold, with walled cities, lakes of 
quicksilver, of gold, of amber, and of corals. With reason 
Father Mariana rebukes them for deceiving us with these 
riches which do not exist. They do not say a word about the 
principal riches that exist there, which are the innumerable 
souls redeemed by the most precious blood of our Redeemer, 
Jesus Christ, and these accompanied by the very abundant 
conveniences and temporal means, utilities, facilities, and op- 
portunities which immediately and without any fiction I shall 
mention in this fourth part of this report. 

Book IV. 

Of the many Temporal Means, Facilities, and Opportunities, 
which Our Lord offers and gives in these new Conversions 
in order to be able to secure this great Advantage for both 
Majesties. 1 

The greater the means the greater our obligation to seek 
the salvation of so many souls in the very fertile and pleasant 
lands and valleys of these new conquests and conversions. 
There are already very rich and abundant fields, plantings 
and crops of wheat, maize, frijoles, chick-peas, beans, lentils, 
bastard chick-peas, etc. There are good gardens, and in 
them vineyards for wine for masses, with reed-brakes of 
sweet cane for syrup and panocha, 2 and, with the favor of 
Heaven, before long for sugar. There are many Castilian 
fruit trees, as fig-trees, quinces, oranges, pomegranates, peaches, 

1 Book IV. contains fifteen chapters. 

2 A sort of candy made by boiling cane sap. 



458 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

apricots, pear-trees, apples, mulberries, pecans, prickly pears, 
etc., with all sorts of garden stuff, such as cabbages, melons, 
watermelons, white cabbage, lettuce, onions, leeks, garlic, 
anise, pepper, mustard, mint, Castilian roses, white lilies, 
etc., with very good timber for all kinds of building, such as 
pine, ash, cypress, walnut, china-trees, mesquite, alders, 
poplar, willow, tamarind, etc. 

Another temporal means which our Lord gives us for the 
promotion of these new conquests are the plentiful ranches 
which are already stocked with cattle, sheep, and goats, many 
droves of mares, horses, sumpters, mules as well as horses, 
pack animals necessary for transportation and commerce, 1 
with very rich and abundant pastures all the year to raise 
very fat sheep, producing much tallow, suet, and soap, which 
already is made in abundance. 

The climate of most of these new lands and new con- 
quests where the promotion of these new conversions is asked, 
is very good and pleasant, and somewhat similar to that of 
Mexico and to the best of Europe, with neither too great heat 
nor too great cold. 

In these new nations and new lands there are many good 
veins and mineral lands bearing gold and silver; and in the 
neighborhood and even in sight of these new missions and new 
conversions some very good new mining camps of very rich 
silver ore are now being established. 

The natives of these new conquests and new nations are 
industrious Indians, who are docile, affable, and very friendly, 
and at the same time warlike and valiant, able to defend 
themselves against their enemies and to fight against our ad- 
versaries the enemies of this province of Sonora, for these our 
Pimas defend themselves very well, better than any other 
nation whatsoever, against the warlike Apaches, and their 
allies, the Hocomes, Janos, etc. ; and they continually win very 
good victories over them, even with notable relief to this 
province of Sonora, taking away from them at times their 
prisoners and stolen articles. 

1 In the last years of the seventeenth century Kino established several stock 
ranches in the Santa Cruz and San Pedro valleys to supply the missions projected. 
Farther south he and his associates established many more ranches. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 459 

These natives, particularly those of this extensive Pimeria, 
have very good fabrics of cotton and of wool; also many 
nicely made baskets, like hampers, of different sizes, many 
colored macaw feathers, many deer and buffalo hides, and 
toward the sea coast much bezoar, and the efficacious con- 
trayerba, 1 and in many parts the important medicinal fruit 
called the jojoba. 2 

On this coast of the Sea of California, or Californian Gulf, 
of these new conquests, we have very good salt beds, of white 
as well as rock salt ; and there are inlets and posts very suit- 
able for fishing for all sorts of very savory fish, shrimps, 
oysters, etc. 

All these nations, not only those of this extensive Pimeria, 
but also those of the neighboring Cocomaricopas, Yumas, 
Quiquimas, etc., all the year continually come to see me from 
fifty, seventy, one hundred, one hundred and fifty and more 
leagues from the interior. Others from even more remote 
parts have sent very friendly messages and gifts, among them 
blue shells 3 from the opposite coast and South Sea, and they 
ask me to go to see them and baptize them, and to secure for 
them missionary fathers who may go to minister to them. 

Not only do these natives come so many leagues to this 
my pueblo of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores to ask of me the 
succor of the missionary fathers whom they need, but as I 
cannot give them and do not secure for them, many of the 
governors, captains and caciques, after having come from the 
north, northwest, west, etc., fifty, seventy, one hundred, and 
more leagues, go and have gone many times to see the father 
visitors and father rectors and alcaldes mayores and their 
deputies, to the valley of Sonora, to the Real de San Juan, and 
to Oposura. 4 Sometimes they have gone to the valley of 
Santa Maria de Baseraca, which is about one hundred leagues 
distant from here. Last year during the journey and visit of 

1 Dorstenia contrayerba, a medical plant. 

2 "American fruit, similar to judias [phaseolus vulgaris], small and of the 
color of a chestnut. The inside is white and bitter but pleasing to the taste. It 
is used as a digestive" (Diccionario Salvat). 

3 See p. 445, note 1. 

4 San Juan and Oposura are both on the upper water of the Yaqui River, 
southeast of the Arispe. 



460 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

the Father Visitor, Francisco Maria Piccolo, to this Pimeria, 
more than thirty governors, captains, alcaldes, fiscals, etc., 
came from the interior, all on horseback. As his Reverence had 
just set out from this Pimeria, all went, and I with them, to 
overtake his Reverence as far as Cucurpe, where he promised 
them that the necessary fathers, for whom they very anxiously 
prayed, should come to them. Up to the present they have 
not arrived, perhaps because there has not been in Mexico, as 
has been written me, means with which to equip them ; but 
at present two pious persons offer to send from here the neces- 
sary equipment for two or three fathers. May our Lord bring 
them! 

Another of the advantages and means which here facilitate 
the desired service of both Majesties, is the fact that this 
Pima language which we speak here extends more than two 
hundred leagues into the interior, even among the other and 
distinct nations of the Cocomaricopas, Yumas, and Quiquimas, 
for in all places are found intermingled some natives who 
speak both languages, that of the nation where they are and 
our Pima tongue, and therefore everywhere we have plenty 
of good interpreters, both men and women, for the reduction 
and teaching of all, and to explain to them promptly the 
Christian doctrine and the mysteries of our holy Catholic 
faith. 

In all these new conquests and new people where we have 
travelled they have no particular idolatry or doctrine which 
it will be especially difficult to eradicate, nor polygamy, nor 
ponios as in Japan and in Great China, and although they 
greatly venerate the sun as a remarkable thing, with ease one 
preaches to them, and they comprehend the teaching that 
God Most High is the All-Powerful and He who created the 
sun, the moon, and the stars, and all men, and all the world, 
and all its creatures. 

In these new conversions the natives have, even far in the 
interior, as is the case of Nuestra Sefiora de la Consepcion del 
Caborca, forty-six leagues to the westward, in San Ambrosio 
del Busanic, thirty-seven leagues to the northwest, and in 
San Francisco Xavier del Bac, sixty leagues to the north, 
pueblos or missions begun, with good beginnings of instruc- 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 461 

tion in the Christian doctrine and in prayer. 1 In these places 
there are temastianes, or teachers of the doctrine, and many 
infants and some adults have been baptized. They have 
their cabildos of justices, governors, captains, alcaldes, fiscales, 
and their topiles, alguaciles, etc. They have good beginnings 
of houses for the comfortable living of the fathers whom they 
hope to receive, and of churches, fields of wheat, maize and 
beans, cattle, sheep and goats, horses and mules, droves of 
mares and of horses, and beginnings of gardens, all of which 
the very domestic and loyal natives tend, as if the fathers 
whom they pray and beg for and hope and deserve to receive 
were already living there. 

This first mission, or district, or pueblo, of Nuestra Senora 
de los Dolores, is actually arranging for and delivering a decent 
equipment for founding the new mission of Santa Maria de 
Bagota, which is twenty-two leagues from here toward the 
north, that is, new vestments with which to say mass, three 
hundred head of cattle for their ranch, one hundred head of 
sheep and goats, a drove of mares, a drove of horses, a house 
in which to live, the beginnings of a church, with provisions 
and the necessary furnishings for a house, and the beginnings 
of sowings and crops of wheat, maize, etc. Almost as much 
was given, to the value of three thousand pesos, from the stock 
of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, a few years ago, for the 
founding and equipment of the mission of San Ignacio; and 
other like aid this and other missions of these new conquests 
and new conversions will be able to give in time. 

The promotion of these new conversions and the service 
of both Majesties which is hoped for in them is greatly facili- 
tated by the fact that different benefactors, missionary fathers 
of the old missions of the Company of Jesus, as well as secular 
gentlemen, promise very good aid in the form of cattle, sheep 
and goats, horses, clothing, fabrics or garments, provisions, 
and some silver, to aid the new missionary fathers who may 
come to these new conversions to found new missions, for 
their churches and houses, the value already amounting to 
more than twenty thousand pesos. One person alone offers 

1 From this, as from other data, it is inferred that there was now no resident 
missionary at San Xavier. 



462 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

five thousand in suitable goods, with some silver, for the 
founding and for the church, house, and fortification of the 
settlement or great mission of Santa Ana de Quibori, where 
Captain Coro lives; because it is notorious that those his 
natives will be able to continue to pursue the neighboring 
avowed enemies, the Hocomes, Janos, and Apaches, for the 
very great and total relief, or remedy, of all this province of 
Sonora. 

Now, in addition, at the very same time that this brief 
report is asked of me and I am writing it, the Senor commissary 
curate and vicar of the Real de San Juan, Don Anttonio de 
Zalasar, writes me that his Illustriousness, the Most Pious 
Prince of the church, the Senor Doctor Don Ygnacio Dias de 
la Barrera, most meritorious Bishop of the city of Durango 
and of all these provinces, has said to his Grace in the city of 
Guadiana, Durango, 1 within the past few months, that he is 
possessed of very Catholic and most zealous holy determina- 
tion to seek, although it may be by alms, the necessary aid and 
equipment for some few missionary fathers to live in and ad- 
minister these new conquests and conversions. These, then, 
are the opportune means which our Lord offers us to enable 
us to accomplish a great service of both Majesties and the 
eternal salvation of very many souls in all this most extensive 
North America. 

Epilogue very suitable and so much the more because unlooked 
for, in regard to the above-mentioned Means, as well as in re- 
gard to the Subject-Matter of all this Report or Relation, for 
which prays the new Letter of our new Father-General, 
Miguel Angel Tamburini, which has just arrived from Rome, 
at these new Conversions. 2 

More than three years ago, by order of our Father-Gen- 
eral, Thirso Gonzales, God rest his soul, I sent to Rome a re- 
lation of the state of these new conversions, which was alto- 

1 Pimeria Alta was under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Durango at this 
time. 

2 This appears as chapter 16, book IV., in the manuscript. Father Michele 
Angelo Tamburini was general of the Society of Jesus from 1706 to 1730. 



1710] RELATION OF FATHER KINO 463 

gether very conformable to and uniform with a relation which 
the Father Visitor Orasio Polise had also made, and which the 
Father Rector Juan Maria de Salvatierra had seen, subscribed 
to, and approved. And now, in the most courteous, holy 
letter, which, having just written this present report, I have 
just received from our new Father-General, Miguel Angel 
Tamburini, his Reverence writes me, very much to our pur- 
pose, the following : 

"I received with special comfort two letters from your 
Reverence, dated January 24 and June 30, 1704. With them 
comes what your Reverence calls a dedicatory for the treatise 
which is being perfected with the title of ' Celestial Favors 
Experienced in the New Conquests and New Conversions of 
North America. ' In the letters as well as in the draft of the 
dedicatory, which contains the notices of the new discoveries 
and of their state, I find much wherein to praise the mercies 
of God, in those nations which are being discovered and 
brought to his knowledge; and our Company owes special 
thanks to His Divine Majesty, because He uses her sons as an 
instrument so greatly to His glory. 

"Very much do I rejoice at the aid which your Reverence 
has sent and is arranging to send every year to the Cali- 
fornias, and at the two churches which you have built and 
dedicated, which have become among the best there are in 
the province, and that you are continuing your treatise on 
those missions with the title of ' Celestial Favors/ of which 
you have sent us hither the first part. I am hoping for the 
other two which your Reverence promises, and that they all 
may be approved in Mexico, that they may be published. 
All the notices which your Reverence gives me fill me with 
joy, and with a desire to repay the anxieties and glorious 
travails of your Reverence and of your companions ; but just 
as you have opposition there, we here regret that the war, 
lack of commerce, and perils of the seas keep our missionaries 
detained. But we all hope, with great confidence in the lov- 
ing providence of God, that, since in these very contrary times 
He has willed to discover those new nations and to show us 
so many souls who wander scattered outside of His fold, it is 
not that we may see them perish, but to give us means and 



464 ARIZONA: THE JESUITS IN PIMERIA ALTA [1710 

forces to bring them from their forests and reduce them to 
pueblos and churches. Therefore, I pray His Divine Majesty 
to guard your Reverence many years, as I desire. 
Your Reverence's servant in Christ, 

" Miguel Angel Tamburini. 

"Rome, Sept. 5, 1705. 

"All things to the greater honor and glory of God and of 
the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and to the salvation of souls 
and nations." * 

1 Omnia ad Mayorem Dei Deipareque Virginis Marian Honorem et Gloriam et 
animarum Jentiumque Salutem. 



INDEX 



Abas, 340. 

Abau, 340. 

Abo province, 215-216. 

Abreojos Point, 62, 62 n. 

Abreojos Rocks, 15, 15 n., 62 n. 

Acanis, 339. 

Acapulco, 13 n., 45, 46, 49, 53, 53 n., 
55 n., 73, 93, 106, 107, 121, 439, 455. 

Acapulco Island, 100. 

Account of the Discovery of the Buf- 
falo, by Ofiate, 223-232. 

Account of the Journey to the Provinces 
and Settlements of New Mexico, by 
Antonio de Espejo, 168-194. 

Acenoquipe, 451. 

Acevedo, Father Antonio, 316, 317, 
325. 

Achubales, 339. 

Acoma, 139, 140, 165, 210, 218, 222, 
236, 238. 

Adid, 448. 

Agreda, Maria de Jesus de, 354, 387. 

Agua Asul River, 295. 

Agua de la Pefia, 238. 

Aguayo, Marques de San Miguel de, 
353. 

Aguidas, 339. 

Aguilar, see Galeote. 

Aguilar, Joseph de, 440. 

Aguilar, Martin de, 63, 64, 75, 80, 223. 

Aguirre, Martin Ruis de, 99. 

Agustin, Ldzaro, 287, 296, 298, 299, 
301. 

Aielis, 339. 

Aijados, 313. 

Aire, 422. 

Alamito, 326 n. 

Alamo, 388, 388 n., 405, 405 n. 

Alamos, 439. 

Alamosa, 226 n. 

Alarc6n, Francisco de, 437, 437 n. 

Alarc6n, Juan de, 73, 73 n. 

Alarc6n, Pasqual de, 52, 60, 69, 74, 
83, 93, 98, 106; explores Colorado 



River, 5; adviser to Vizcaino, 45; 
explores land, 59, 64; in charge of 
water-supply, 63, 66, 67 n., 78, 80; 
surveys by, 71-72; friendliness to- 
ward Indians, 78, 85, 86. 

Albuquerque, 233 n. 

Alcala, 209. 

Alchedomas, 276, 276 n. 

Alegre, Historia de la Compania de 
Jesus, 428 n., 429 n., 430. 

Almaden, 283. 

Almansa, Pedro Fernandez de, 185. 

Almansar, Hernandez de, 170. 

Almocer, Bartolome Gonzalez de, 267. 

Alonso, Indian, 235. 

Alpine, Tex., 327 n. 

Altar River, 428, 429. 

Altar Valley, 442 n. 

Alvarado, 5, 166. 

Amacavas, 270, 270 n., 271, 273. 

Amaya, Casilda de, 185. 

Amazon Island, 3, 3 n., 4. 

American Antiquarian Society, Pro- 
ceedings, 172 n. 

American Historical Review, 350. 

Anacacho Mountain, 287, 297 n. 

Anchimos, 339. 

Anchinoda, Captain, 371. 

Andres, Indian, 152. 

Angel de la Guarda, 335, 336. 

Anian, kingdom of, 109. 

Anian, Strait of, 43, 47," 97, 108, 109, 
111, 118, 121, 129, 131, 199, 445, 
454. 

Ano Nuevo Point, 32 n. 

Antelope Hills, 255 n. 

Antelope Spring, 240 n., 243 n. 

Anthony of Padua, St., 358; see also 
San Antonio. 

Apaches, 212, 252, 253, 315, 321, 331- 
332, 335, 336, 337-338, 446, 447, 451, 
458, 462. 

Apalache, 348. 

Apes, 304. 



465 



466 



INDEX 



Apostdlicos Afanes de la Compania de 

Jestis, by Ortega, 428 n., 429 n., 430. 
Aquarius Range, 244 n., 245 n. 
Aquino, Father Tomas de, 46, 52, 56, 

68, 72, 75, 106, 120. 
Arames, 308. 
Aranda, Joan de, 157. 
Arboleda, 81 n. 
Archivo de Indias, at Seville, 11, 140, 

166 n. 
Archivo General y Publico, Mexico, 

319, 405 n., 433 n. 
Archuleta, Melchor de, 332. 
Arcos, see Los que hacen Arcos. 
Arellano, Francisco Ramirez de, 50, 

104-105. 
Arellano, Tristan de, 159. 
Argoli, Andrea, Ephemerides, 391 n. 
Arispe, 425 n., 427, 459 n. 
Arizona, 236 n.; Espejo arrives in, 165, 

166; Ofiate in, 269-276; Jesuits in, 

425-464. 
Arizona and New Mexico, by H. H. 

Bancroft, 140, 145 n., 152 n., 155 n., 

180 n., 187 n., 205 n., 453 n. 
Arkansas River, 201, 205, 211, 258, 

258 n., 260, 260 n. 
Armada Espanola, by C. F. Duro, 46 

n., 49 n. 
Armas, Baltasar de, 53, 108 n. 
Arras, Father Antonio, 441 n. 
Arricivita, Crdnica, 368 n. 
Arte de Navegar, by Pedro Medina, 

391, 391 n. 
Asay, valley of, 149. 
Ascensi6n, Father Antonio de la, 46, 

52, 53 n., 68, 76, 81, 83, 106, 107, 

107 n., 272; diary of, 50, 65 n.; 

statement of, 94 n.; character, 104; 

Brief Report of Discovery of South 

Sea and New Spain, 104-134. 
Ascent of the Enchanted Mesa, by F. W. 

Hodge, 235 n. 
Assumption, Our Lady of the, 63 n. 
Asunci6n Island, 63, 63 n. 
Asunci6n Point, 15, 15 n., 63 n. 
Atlantic Ocean, 3, 43; see also North 

Sea. 
Atocha, Nuestra Sefiora de, 324. 
Atondo y Atill6n, Admiral Ysidro, 429, 

438. 
Aumaric, see Humaric. 
Aura River, 293, 306 n. 



Austin American, article by H. E. Bol- 
ton, 349 n., 362 n. 

Autor An6nimo, 357 n., 397 n., 401 n., 
402 n., 403 n. 

Ayer, Edward E., 141 n., 167. 

Ayerde, Diego de, 231. 

Azcue, Fernandez de, 284. 

Azevedo y Pereda, Juan de, 52. 

Babosarigames, 307. 

Bac, see San Francisco Xavier del Bac. 

Baca, Captain Ygnacio, 332. 

Bacallaos, see Newfoundland. 

Bacanuche, 452. 

Bacoancos, 448, 448 n. 

Bacora, Captain, 306. 

Baes, Father Andres, 438. 

Bagres River, 252, 252 n. 

Bahacechas, 273, 273 n., 275. 

Bajuneros, 340. 

Balboa, Vasco Nufiez de, 3. 

Balcarcel Rivadeneira Sotomayor, An- 
tonio, 285-286, 289, 291, 307-309. 

Ballenas Bay, 15, 15 n., 61 n., 62 n., 
Ill, 111 n. 

Baluartes, 308, 309, 388, 405. 

Bancroft, H. H., 265 n.; History of the 
North Mexican States and Texas, 4 n., 
5 n., 142 n., 428 n., 429 n., 453 n.; 
History of California, 10 n.; History 
of Arizona and New Mexico, 140, 145 
n., 152 n., 155 n., 180 n., 187 n., 205 
n., 453 n.; History of the Northwest 
Coast, 453 n. 

Bancroft Library, 319; pianos in, 49. 

Banda Point, see Grajero Point. 

Bandelier, A. F., Final Report, 146 n., 
149 n., 152 n., 233 n. 

Bafios, Licentiate, 160. 

Barbadillo, see Salas Barbadillo. 

Barcia, Ensayo Cronoldgico, 318. 

Barela, Diego, 337, 339. 

Barela, Pedro, 267. 

Barrado, Hernando, Declaration of, 151- 
153; Relacidn Breve, 140, 154-157, 
167. 

Barreto, Francisco, 170. 

Barrilas, Father Gaspar de los, 449 n. 

Barrilla Springs, 328 n. 

Barroto, Francisco, 185. 

Barroto, Juan Enriquez, 348. 

Bartiromo, Father Melchor, 448. 

Baseraca, see Santa Maria de Baseraca. 



INDEX 



467 



Baxos, Island of, 90 n. 

Beato Salvador de Horta River, 414, 
418. 

Beaver Creek, 256 n. 

Becher's Bay, 35 n. 

Beitonijures, 339. 

Belarde, see Velarde. 

Belen, Nuestra Sefiora de, 323, 324. 

Beltran, Father Bernaldino, 156, 163- 
166, 169, 182, 188, 190. 

Benavides, Alonso de, "Memorial," 
315 n., 347, 354 n. 

Benavides, Captain Francisco, 411, 412. 

Bentura, Father, see San Buenaven- 
tura, Father Dionisio de. 

Beristam, Biblioteca Hispano-Ameri- 
cana Septentrional, 429 n. 

Berlanga, Ambrosio de, 292, 299, 309. 

Bernal, Captain Christoval, 443, 446. 

Bernal de Pinadero, Admiral Ber- 
nardo, 438. 

Bernalillo, 138, 139, 234 n. 

Bethlehem, Our Lady of, 323 n. 

Bibis, 339. 

Bibits, 287. 

Bibliographical Society of America, 
Papers, 429 n. 

Biblioteca Nacional, 104 n., 105 n. 

Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de Jesus, 
by Sommervogel, 429 n. 

Bidais River, 414 n. 

Big Blue River, 261 n. 

Big Sandy River, 240 n., 244 n., 245 n., 
271 n. 

Bill Williams Fork, 204, 206, 270 n., 
271, 271 n., 428. 

Bill Williams Mountain, 243 n. 

Biscaya, see Nueva Vizcaya. 

Black Mountain, 8, 32 n. 

Blanco Bay, 69 n., 77, 77 n. 

Bobidas, 339. 

Boboles, 285, 304, 305, 308. 

Boca de San Domingo, 61 n. 

Bocanegra, Juan Gutierrez, 231, 232, 
266, 267. 

Boggy Creek, 414 n. 

Bolafios, Francisco de, 45, 53, 59, 78, 
80, 91 n., 95 n. 

Bolaiios, Captain Ger6nimo, 97. 

Bolton, H. E., Jumano Indians in 
Texas, 315 n.; Spanish Occupation of 
Texas, 315 n. ; article in Austin Amer- 
ican, 349 n., 362 n.; Location of La 



Salle's Colony in the Gulf of Mexico, 
349 n.; Native Tribes about the East 
Texas Missions, 349 n., 376 n.; Guide 
to the Archives of Mexico, 351; Father 
Kino's Lost History, 429 n. 

Bonilla, Francisco Leyva de, 200. 

Bonilla, Joan Garcia, 167. 

Bordoy, Father Antonio, 368. 

Bosque, Fernando del, aids Balcarcel, 
285; seeks information relative to 
Indians, 286-287; report of, 288; re- 
turns to Guadalupe, 288, 291; Diary 
of, 291-309. 

Bosque-Larios Expedition, 281-309, 
313, 356 n. 

Bove, see San Ildefonso. 

Bravo River, 353, 354, 357 n., 390. 

Brazos River, 376 n., 413, 413 n., 414 
n., 418. 

"Breve Relacion," of (Mate, 250 n., 251 
n., 255 n., 257 n. 

Brevissima Relacion, by Bartolome de 
las Casas, 133 n. 

Brewster, Betty B., 289-290, 294. 

Brief and True Account of the Explora- 
tion of New Mexico, 154-157. 

Buen Suceso, Nuestra Sefiora del, 322, 
323. 

Buena Esperanza River (Colorado), 
271, 271 n., 275, 280. 

Buena Gente, Island and Bay of, 82 n., 
86 n. 

Buena Vista, Jesus Maria y Joseph de, 
419. 

Buffalo, 165, 204, 217, 219, 298, 339, 
339 n., 360, 372, 373, 375; Discovery 
of the, 223-232. 

Burney, Voyages, 85 n. 

Busanic, 444, 446, 460. 

Bustamante, Pedro de, 139, 157 n.; 
Declaration of, 142-150. 

Cabas, 419 n. 

Cabesas, 302. 

Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nufiez, 144, 173, 
224; Journey of, 224 n. 

Caborca, 442 n., 443, 443 n., 444, 449 
n., 460. 

Caborica, 440 n. 

Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez, 63 n., 65 n., 
69 n., 77 n., 83 n.; expedition under, 
5-12, 43; diary of expedition of, 13- 
39, 54 n., 127 n.; death of, 33. 



468 



INDEX 



Cabrillo, Voyage of, by H. W. Henshaw, 

22 n., 23 n., 26 n., 33 n. 
Caburcol, 355. 
Cacaxtles, 284. 
Cadiz Bay, 439. 
Cadodacho, 349. 
Caisquetebana, 420 n. 
Calatrava, Order of, 454, 454 n. 
Caldera, mission, Mexico, 356, 356 n. 
Caldera River, 388. 
Qaldivar, see Zaldivar. 
California, 427, 429, 430, 435, 436; 

early explorations of, 3-5; Cabrillo 

and Ferrelo's exploration of, 5-39; 

Vizcaino's exploration of, 44-134, 

273; Onate's journey to, 206, 268- 

280. 
California, Gulf of, 44, 92 n., 107, 109- 

111, 206, 272, 427-429. 
California, Historia de la Antigua 6 

Baja, by Clavigero, 429 n. 
California, History of, by H. H. Ban- 
croft, 10 n. 
California, Lower, 5, 6, 109-115, 126, 

127; explorations of, 13-23, 38, 39, 

46, 56-79, 107, 108, 115, 116. 
California, Noticia de la, by Venegas 

(Burriel), 50, 428 n., 430. 
California, University of, Publications 

in History, 315 n. 
California under Spain and Mexico, by 

Richman, 49, 94 n. 
Californias, Documentos referentes, etc., 

by Carrasco y Guisasola, 46 n., 48, 

54 n., 55 n. 
Cami, valley of, 148. 
Campo, Father Agustin de, 444. 
Canada del Refugio, 7. 
Canadian River, 205, 255 n., 263 n. 
Canas, see Cestin de Canas. 
Candelaria, Nuestra Sefiora de la, 333- 

334. 
Canoas, Pueblo de las, 7, 25, 38. 
Canoes, Creek of, 401, 401 n. 
Cantond, 419 n. 
Cape Blanco, 47, 108 n., 121 n. 
Cape Colnett, 78 n. 
Cape Corrientes, 13, 13 n., 55, 55 n., 

100. 
Cape Engafio, 5, 6. 
Cape Fortunas, see King's Peak. 
Cape Galera, see Point Concepci6n. 
Cape la Cruz, 79 n. 



Cape Martin, see Point Pinos. 

Cape Mendocino, 13 n., 36 n., 37 n., 43, 

47, 52, 68, 81 n., 93-97, 107, 108, 

108 n., 109, 110, 115, 116, 120, 121, 

129, 453, 454. 
Cape of the Cross, see Grajero Point. 
Cape Pinos, see Northwest Cape. 
Cape Pulmo, 13 n. 
Cape San Lazaro, 61 n. 
Cape San Lucas, 14 n., 54 n., 55, 56, 

56 n., 58, 60, 96, 98, 98 n.. Ill, 113. 
Cape San Martin, see Point Santo 

Tomas. 
Cape San Quentin, 21 n., 73 n., 79 n. 
Cape San Sebastian, 97, 108, 108 n., 

121, 121 n. 
Cape San Sim6n y Judas, 77, 79 n. 
Cape San Tomas, see Point Santo 

Tomas. 
Cape Snow, 8, 32, 32 n., 33. 
Cape Tosco, 14, 14 n. 
Capistrano, Father Juan, 364. 
Carabajal, Luis de, 283. 
Caramanchel Creek, 391 n., 407, 422, 

422 n. 
Carbajal, Juan de Vitoria, 267. 
Carboneli, Captain, 438. 
Cardenas, see Coleccidn de Documentos 

Ineditos. 
Carmel, Our Lady of, 54, 56, 124; 

order of, 52. 
Carmel Bay, 94 n. 
Carmel River, 94, 94 n. 
Carmelites, 46, 104, 124. 
Carmen, Nuestra Sefiora del, 437; see 

also Carmel. 
Carpinteria, 7, 26 n. 
Carrasco y Guisasola, Documentos, 46 

n., 48, 54 n., 55 n. 
Carrera, Antonio, 5. 
Cartas de Indias, 140, 142 n. 
Casa Grande, 442 n., 443, 443 n., 444, 

447, 447 n. 
Casanate, Admiral Pedro Porter, 438. 
Casas, Bernabe de las, 238; see also 

Las Casas. 
Cascossi, 420, 420 n. 
Casfs, Lilia M., 351. 
Castaneda, 227 n. 
Castafio de Sosa, Gaspar, 200, 283. 
Castildavid, 147. 
Castile, 101, 110, 174, 181. 
Castillo, Diego del, 314, 315. 



INDEX 



Castillo, Father Juan del, 441 n. 
Castillo Bueno, Juan del, 108 n. 
Castro, see Montero de Castro. 
Catalina Island, 7, 24, 24 n., 34 n., 81- 

87, 97, 97 n. 
Catarax, 259, 260 n. 
Catholic Church in America, by J. G. 

Shea, 355 n. 
Catujanos, 304. 
Caulas, 339. 

Cavanillas, see Velasques de Cavanillas. 
Cavas, 384. 

Cavendish, Thomas, 43, 56, 56 n. 
Cavo Blanco de San Sebastian, 96 n. 
Caxco, 202. 
Caypa, 203. 

Cedros Island, see Cerros Island. 
Cedulas, 433, 434, 437, 455, 456, 456 n. 
Cenizas Island, 68 n., 73, 73 n., 77 n. 
Central America, 3. 
Cermeno, Sebastian Melendez Ro- 
driguez, 44, 45, 91 n., 94 n., 120 n. 
Cerralvo, 283. 
Cerros Island, 6, 9, 10, 16, 16 n., 17, 17 

n., 46, 65-68, 68 n., 69, 77. 
Cestin de Canas, Captain Luis, 438. 
Chacala, 55, 55 n. 
Chamuscado, Francisco Sanches, 150, 

151, 165, 168, 181, 199, 233 n. 
Chand, 419 n. 
Chapa River, 408. 
Chapultepec, 100 n. 
Charcos de Agua Verde, 423 n. 
Charles II., 438, 455. 
Cheblie, 357. 

Cheguas province, see Puaray province. 
Cheres province, 216. 
Chiguicagui, 451. 
Chihuahua, 451. 
China, 67, 109, 119, 120, 131, 174, 181, 

219. 
China, History of the Kingdom of, by 

Mendoza, 167. 
Chinipas, 441. 
Chiquitas, 339. 
Chocolate Mountains, 271 n. 
Chomenes, 356. 

Chronica, by Espinosa, 354 n., 368 n. 
Chrdnica de la Provincia del Santo Evan- 

gelio, by Vetancur, 354 n., 355 n. 
Chrdnica, see also Crdnica. 
Cibola, see Zufii. 
Cicacut, 7, 8, 29. 



Cicquique, 166. 

Cicuye, 218, 218 n. 

Cimarron River, 256 n. 

Clark, R. C, The Beginnings of Texas, 
349 n., 392 n., 394 n. 

Claros, Father, 234, 234 n. 

Clavigero, Francisco Saverio, Historia 
de la Antigua 6 Baja California, 
429 n. 

Coahuila, 284, 285, 288, 289, 291, 291 
n., 348, 350, 354, 355, 357-358, 364, 
367, 371, 388. 

Coahuila y Texas, Apuntes para la His- 
toria Antigua de, by Portillo, 286 n., 
289, 357 n. 

Cocapas, 276, 276 n. 

Cocomaricopas, 444, 449 n., 460. 

Cocomas, 288, 299. 

Coc6spera, 441 n., 448. 

Coc6yes, 212, 218. 

Colabrotes, 339. 

Coleccidn de Documentos Ineditos, by 
Pacheco and Cardenas, 3 n., 11, 50, 
104 n., 105 n., 139-140, 142 n., 144 n., 
147 n.-151 n., 154 n., 158 n., 159 n., 
166, 167-168 n., 180 n., 193 n., 195 n., 
205 n., 206-208, 212 n., 234 n., 250 n., 
251 n., 255 n., 261 n., 262 n., 263 n., 
264 n. 

Coleccidn de Varios Documentos para la 
Historia de la Florida, by Bucking- 
ham Smith, 11, 11 n., 12, 351. 

Colnett Bay, 78 n. 

Cologne, 76 n. 

Colorado River, 5, 112, 130, 206, 245 
n., 270 n., 271, 271 n., 273, 428, 443 
n., 444, 445, 445 n., 449 n., 450, 452; 
see also Little Colorado. 

Colorado River, of Texas, 313, 317, 
334, 338, 360 n., 372, 372 n., 375 n., 
376 n., 401 n., 402 n., 410 n., 412 n., 
413. 

Commission Creek, 255 n. 

Conception, Nuestra Senora de la, 448. 

Conception de Nuestra Senora de 
Caborca, see Caborca. 

Conchos, 151, 164, 166, 168, 170-171, 
174-176. 

Conchos River, 137, 138, 145, 158, 164, 
190, 202. 

Conchumuchas, 340, 340 n. 

Conquebacos, 339. 

Conte, Antonio, 249. 



470 



INDEX 



Conte de Herrera, Antonio, 239 n., 248. 

Contotores, 307. 

Copala, 271 n., 272. 

Copala Lake, 271, 273, 279. 

Corban, Captain Toribio G6mez de, 

45, 92 n., 106. 
Corbett, J. S., Drake and the Tudor 

Xavy, 32 n. 
Cordero, Manuel Sessar, 92 n. 
C6rdoba, 223. 

Coro, Captain, 446, 447, 451, 462. 
Coronado, Francisco Vasquez, 5, 169, 

179, 184, 185, 235, 441 n.; expedition 

of, 5, 137, 199, 206, 428. 
Coronado Expedition, by G. P. Win- 
ship, 169 n., 179 n., 183 n., 227. 
Coronados Islands, 23, 23 n., 79 n. 
Corpus Christi River, 343. 
Cortes, Francisco, 3 n. 
Cortes, Hernando, 3-4, 44, 201, 283, 

386, 437, 437 n. 
Cortes, Father Jacinto, 438. 
Cortes, Marcos, 231. 
Coruna, Count of, 142, 159-160, 168. 
Costans6, 91 n. 
Cotton, 137, 144, 149, 156, 174, 177, 

185, 268. 
Council of the Indies, 45, 110, 131. 
Cow Creek, 260 n. 
Coxedor, Baltasar Martinez, 267. 
Crockett, 415 n. 
Crdnica, Arricivita, 368 n. 
Crdnica, by Obreg6n, 140-141, 167. 
Crdnica, see also Chrdnica. 
Cruz, Agustin de la, 357 n. 
Cruz, Fray Manuel de la, 285-287, 2SS. 
Cruzados, 242 n., 270, 270 n. 
Cruzate, Governor Domingo Gironza 

Petris de, 314, 315, 316, 318, 320, 

336, 338, 440. 
Cuaguila River, 405. 
Cuatro Cienegas, 163, 170. 
Qubia, Captain Diego de, 223, 231, 

247 n. 
Cuchans, see Yumas. 
Cucurpe, 427, 440, 440 n., 448, 460. 
Cuencame, 371. 
Cueva, Juan de, 150, 153. 
Cuitaos, 314. 
Cujacos, 339. 
Cujalos, 339. 

Culiacan, 4, 55 n., 99, 127, 129. 
Cuna, Bernardo de, 185. 



Quni, see Zufii. 
Cunquebacos, 339. 
Cuyler's Harbor, 7, 8, 38 n. 

Davidson, George, 11, 12; Early Voy- 
ages, 14 n., 16 n., 17 n., 20 n., 22 n., 
24 n., 25 n., 28 n.-39 n. passim, 56 
n., 5S n.-69 n. passim, 73 n., 77 n., 78 
n., 79 n., 80 n., 83 n., 85 n., 87 n., 
89 n., 91 n., 94 n., 96 n., 117 n.; 
Identification of Sir Francis Drake's 
Anchorage on the Coast of California 
in the Year 1579, 32 n. 

Decouvertes et Etablissements des Fran- 
cois, by Margi-y, 375 n. 

Deep Port, see San Pablo Bay. 

De Leon, Captain Alonso de, 348-352, 
355, 366, 366 n.; Itineraries, 326 n., 

352, 3SS-423; expedition of 1686, 

353, 354; expedition of 1687, 354, 
354 n.; expedition of 16SS, 355-357; 
expedition of 1689, 357-364, 3SS- 
404; expedition of 1690, 367-3S7, 
405-423; autos, 399 n.; Historia de 
Nucvo Lcdn, 2S6 n., 349, 350, 352, 
353 n., 357 n., 388 n., 390 n., 397 n., 
399 n., 401 n., 403 n., 404 n. 

De Le6n-Massanet expeditions, 345- 

423. 
Derrotero of Vizcaino's voyage, 4S, 49, 

55 n., 58 n., 59 n., 61 n.,*63 n., 64 n., 

65 n., 67 n., 69 n., 7S n., 79 n., 80 n., 

81 n., 83 n., S9 n., 90 n., 95 n. 
Descalona, see Escalona, Father Juan 

de. 
Desert Islands, see Coronados Islands. 
Despejo, see Espejo, Antonio de. 
Detobitis Indians, 340. 
Diaz de Vargas, see Vargas, Francisco 

Diaz de. 
Diccionario Salvat, 459 n. 
Dijus, 339. 
Doagibubig, 440. 
Documcntos, ed. Carrasco y Guisasola, 

46 n., 48, 54 n., 55 n. 
Documcntos Ineditos, see Coleccidn de 

Documcntos Ineditos, and Garcia, 

Genaro. 
Documcntos para la Historia de M&cico, 

51, 210, 26S n., 430, 431, 432. 
Dolores, Nuestra Senora de los, 429, 

440, 441, 441 n., 442 n., 443, 447, 

448, 449, 452 n., 459, 461. 



INDEX 



471 



Domingues, Baltasar, 332. 

Domingues, Juan, 332. 

Dorantes, 224. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 43, 444; Identifica- 
tion of Sir Francis Brake's Anchorage, 
by George Davidson, 32 n. 

Drake and the Tudor Navy, by J. S. 
Corbett, 32 n. 

Drake's Bay, 8, 32, 32 n., 45, 46, 91 n., 
94, 94 n., 96, 120, 120 n. 

Duero River, 271. 

Duran, Juan, 445. 

Duran, Fray Rodrigo, 202. 

Durango, 137, 163, 169, 190, 462, 
462 n. 

Duro, Cesdreo Fernandez, Armada 
Espanola, 46 n., 49 n.; Don Diego de 
Penalosa, 315 n., 317-318. 

Eagle Pass, 287, 306 n. 

Early Voyages, by George Davidson, 

14 n., 16 n., 17 n., 20 n., 22 n., 24 n., 

25 n., 28 n.-39 n. passim, 56 n., 58 

n., 59 n., 61 n., 63 n., 65 n., 67 n., 69 

n., 73 n., 76 n.-80 n., 83 n., 85 n., 87 

n., 89 n., 90 n., 91 n., 94 n., 96 n., 

117 n. 
Echancotes, 339. 
Echegaray, Martin de, 347-348. 
Edwards County, 287. 
El Coxo, 28, 29 n., 30. 
El Moro Island, 86 n. 
El Morro de los Reye3, see Point 

Reyes. 
El Paso, 164, 202, 203, 314, 315, 316, 

317, 318, 320 n. 
El Paso District, The Beginnings of 

Spanish Settlements in, by Hughes, 

315, 320, 324 n. 
El Paso River, 353, 353 n. 
Eleven Thousand Virgins, Bay of, 72- 

76, 76 n., 79 n.; see also Port San 

Quentin. 
Elisondo, 289. 

Emeges, 165; see also Jemez. 
Emmes, province of the, 216. 
Encarnaci6n del Tusconimo, 447. 
Encinitas, 83 n. 
Enfado (or Pintada), 129. 
Engano Point, see Punta Baja. 
Engelhardt, Father Zephyrin, Missions 

and Missionaries of California, 128 n. 
Ensayo Cronoldgico, by Barcia, 318. 



Entrada, by Luxan, 164 n., 173 n., 176 

n., 184 n., 186 n., 187 n. 
Ephemerides, by Andrea Argoli, 391 n. 
Escalante, Phelipe de (and Barrando), 

"Relacion Breve," 140, 142 n., 154- 

157, 167. 
Escalona, Father Juan de, 210, 250, 

250 n., 266. 
Escanjaques, 205, 257, 257 n., 258, 261 

n., 264 n. 
Escobar, Father Francisco de, 268, 

279. 
Escorza, Juan Bautista, 371. 
Espejo, Antonio de, 130 n., 156, 206, 

223, 243 n., 247 n., 321 n.; expedition 

of, 140, 141, 161-195, 199; narrative 

of, 168-192; Letter to Viceroy, 193- 

194; Letter to King, 195. 
Espinosa, Captain Marcelo de, 231. 
Espinosa, Chronica, 354 n., 368 n. 
Espiritu Santo Bay, 313, 342, 347, 348, 

353, 353 n., 354, 355, 357, 362 n., 

367-368, 369, 370, 399-400. 
Espiritu Santo River, 376 n., 418; see 

also Brazos. 
Esteban, Indian, 299, 304, 307, 308. 
Estrada, Juan de, 436. 
Estremadura, Nueva, 307. 
Evans, Richard Stuart, 11. 
Explicacion, of Vizcaino charts, 49, 

65 n., 69 n., 77, 77 n., 79 n., 80 n., 

87 n., 95 n. 
Exposicion Astronomica de el Cometa, 

by Kino, 430. 

False Bay, 81 n. 

Farallones, Gulf of the, 8. 

Farfdn de los Godos, Captain Marcos, 

187 n., 206, 222, 262 n.; documents 

concerning, 187 n. ; expedition to the 

salines, 235, 236 n. ; expedition to the 

mines, 237, 239-249. 
Father Kino's Lost History, its Discovery 

and its Value, by H. E. Bolton, 429 n. 
Favores Celestiales, by Kino, 429 n., 

432; extract from, 433-464. 
Fernandez, Bartolome, 5. 
Fernandez, Gonzalo, 100. 
Fernandez, Gregorio, 185. 
Ferrelo (Ferrer, Ferrel), BartolomS, 5, 

11, 47; succeeds Cabrillo, 8-10; 

diary, perhaps by, 11-39. 
Figueroa, Isidro Juarez de, 267. 



472 



INDEX 



Final Report, by A. F. Bandelier, 146 

n., 149 n., 152 n., 233 n. 
Fires, Bay of, 7, 25. 
Flagstaff, Arizona, 240 n. 
Flanders, 173, 175, 183, 357. 
Flax, 184. 

Flechas Chiquitas, 339. 
Fletcher, Reverend Francis, The World 

Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake, 

32 n. 
Flores, Antonio, 53, 73, 90 n., 108 n. 
Florida, 4, 43, 144, 159, 173, 224, 272, 

283-284, 347, 400. 
Fontcuberta, Father Miguel, 368, 368 n. 
Fort Ross, 8. 
Fort Stockton, 328 n. 
Frailes, see Los Frailes. 
France, 347, 375. 
Franciscans, in New Mexico, 138, 142, 

143, 151, 163, 168, 169, 179, 208, 221, 

222, 223, 250, 251, 266, 268, 445; in 

Texas, 284-287, 291, 313, 316, 350, 

364-366, 368, 396. 
Francisco, Indian, 152. 
Francisco, Juan, 59, 67, 67 n., 77, 78, 

80, 81, 357, 357 n. 
Francisco Xavier, Indian, 447. 
Frayles, see Los Frailes. 
French settlement in Texas, 360-361, 

361 n., 366, 367-368, 369 n., 397-399, 

401-404. 
Frias, Juan de, 170, 185. 
Frio River, 392, 392 n. 
Fuegos Bay, see Fires, Bay of. 
Fuerte de Montesclaros, 427. 
Fuerte River, 4, 427. 
Fumos, Bahia de los, see Santa Monica 

Bay. 

Gadsden Purchase, 428. 

Galbe valley, 418. 

Galeote, Ensign Martin de Aguilar, 52, 
52 n., 74, 108 n. 

Galicia, 111, 308. 

Galisteo, 233 n. 

Galisteo Pass, 251, 251 n., 252 n. 

Gallegos, Hernando, 138, 139, 140, 
144 n., 146 n., 147 n., 149 n., 150, 
150 n., 157 n.; "Relaci6n y Con- 
cudio de Chamuscado," 140, 148 n., 
150 n.; declaration, 140, 150 n. 

Gallegos, Pedro de Trugillo, 267. 

Gallinas, see Bagres River. 



Gallinas National Forest, 234 n. 

Gallo, El, see San Rafael. 

Galve, Conde de, 357, 364, 416, 417. 

Gamarra, 348. 

Garcia, Francisco, 267. 

Garcia, Genaro, Documentos Ineditos 6 
muy Raws para la Historia de Mexico, 
349; ed., De Leon's Historia de Nuevo 
Leon, 349 n. 

Garcia, Marcos, 239 n., 248. 

Garcitas River, 361 n., 397 n., 402 n. 

Garrison, G. P., Texas, 349 n. 

Garza, Lorenzo de la, 357. 

Garza, Tomds de la, 357. 

Gaviota Pass, 7, 8, 27, 29; see also 
Cicacut. 

Gediondos, 316, 334 n., 339. 

Geniocanes, 288, 303. 

Geographia Hierarchica, by Scherer, 
432. 

Geographical Society of the Pacific, 
Transactions and Proceedings, 6 n., 
9n. 

Ger6nimo, Indian, 151, 152-153. 

Giganta Island, 112. 

Gila River, 428, 429, 430, 442 n., 443 
n., 444, 445 n., 447, 449 n., 453, 455; 
see also Nombre de Jesus River. 

Gilg, Father Adam, 445, 445 n. 

Gironza, Petris de Cruzate, see Cru- 
zate. 

Godoi, Diego Lucero de, 321, 337, 343. 

Golden Gate, 8, 47. 

Gomes, Antonio, 332. 

G6mez de CorMn, Admiral Toribio, 
45, 53, 53 n. 

Gonzalez, E. J., Coleccidn de Noticias y 
Documentos para la Historia de Nuevo 
Le6n, 286 n. ; Lecciones Orates de His- 
toria de Nuevo Ledn, 286 n. 

Gonzalez, Father Francisco, 449, 449 n. 

Gonzalez, Father Manuel, 440, 441, 445. 

Gonzalez, Father Tirso, 435, 435 n., 
450. 

Grajero Point, 21, 21 n., 79 n. 

Gran Quivira, see Quivira. 

Gran Teguayo, see Teguayo. 

Granada, 235, 236 n.; see also Hawikuh. 

Grand Canyon, 5. 

Great Xinesi, 381 n. 

Griffin, George Butler, 49. 

Grollette, Santiago, 364, 403 n. 

Guadalajara, Bishop of, 288-289. 



INDEX 



473 



Guadalajara, Diego de, 314, 316, 317, 

337, 371, 435. 
Guadalajara, Audiencia of, see Nueva 

Galicia. 
Guadalajara city, 284. 
Guadalquivir River, 271. 
Guadalupe, 288, 289, 291, 299, 304, 

305, 308, 309, 325 n. 
Guadalupe (Sinaloa), 439. 
Guadalupe, Nuestra Sefiora de, 286, 

320, 324. 
Guadalupe River, 348, 358, 358 n., 360, 

363, 369, 369 n., 370, 370 n., 385, 385 

n., 400, 400 n., 407, 410, 410 n., 421. 
Guadiana, villa of (Durango), 190. 
Guajardo, Captain Nicol&s de, 371. 
Guaymas, 429. 

Guebara, Diego Martin de, 267. 
Guebavi, see Guevavi. 
Gueiquesale, Esteban, see Esteban. 
Gueiquesales, 285, 287, 288, 301, 306. 
Guerra, Juan, 100. 
Guerrero, 53 n. 
Guevavi, 429, 448, 448 n. 
Guisasola, see Carrasco. 
Guzm&n, 4, 55 n. 

Habre Ojo, see Abreojos Rocks. 

Hackett, Charles W., "Location of the 
Tiguas," 146 n. 

Hagllis, 276, 276 n. 

Hakluyt, Voyages, 44, 167. 

Hakluyt Society Publications, 167. 

Half Moon Bay, 8. 

Halliquamaya, 276 n. 

Hanasines, 339. 

Handbook of American Indians, by 
Hodge, 26 n., 146 n., 171 n., 172 n., 
177 n., 178 n., 181 n., 182 n., 183 n., 
186 n., 189 n., 216 n., 217 n., 233 n., 
234 n., 235 n., 276 n., 376 n. 

Harchuleta, Francisco de, 341-342. 

Hasinai Indians, 349 n. 

Hediondos, see Jediondos. 

Hendido Island, 94 n. 

Henshaw, H. W., Voyage of Cabrillo, 
11, 22 n., 23 n., 26 n., 33 n. 

Hermosillo, 440 n. 

Hernandez, Gregorio, 170, 185, 187. 

Hern&ndez, Joan, 170, 185. 

Herrera, Antonio, Historia General, 5 
n., 10, 10 n., 13 n., 18 n., 21 n., 28 n., 
30 n., 31 n., 36 n., 37 n. 

Herrera, Crist6bal de, 249. 



Hiburi, see Quiburi. 

Hidalgo, Father Francisco, 368, 368 n. 

Himires, San Joseph de, 440, 444. 

Hinehis, 339. 

Hinsas, 340. 

Historia de la Compania de JesHs, by 
Alegre, 428 n., 429 n., 430. 

Historia de los Triumphos de Nuestra 
Fe, by Perez de Ribas, 428 n. 

Historia General, etc., by Antonio 
Herrera, 5 n., 10, 10 n., 13 n., 18 n., 
21 n., 28 n., 30 n., 31 n., 36 n., 37 n. 

Historia, Geografia y Estadistica del 
Estado de Tamaulipas, by Alejandro 
Prieto, 286 n. 

Historical Collections of Louisiana and 
Florida, by French, 351. 

Historical Society of Southern Cali- 
fornia, Publications, 49. 

Hocomes, 446, 447, 451, 458, 462. 

Hodge, Frederick W., Handbook of 
American Indians, 26 n., 146 n., 171 
n., 172 n., 177 n., 178 n., 181 n., 182 
n., 183 n., 186 n., 189 n., 216 n., 217 
n., 233 n., 234 n., 235 n., 276 n., 376 
n.; Jumano Indians, 233 n.; Ascent 
of the Enchanted Mesa, 235 n. 

Hondo River, 366, 369 n., 392, 407, 
422. 

Hopi, 452 n.; see also Moqui. 

Horsehead Crossing, 316, 329 n., 330 n. 

Hualpai camp, 243 n. 

Hualpai Range, 244 n. 

Hudson, Henry, 450. 

Hughes, A. M., The Beginnings of 
Spanish Settlements in the El Paso 
District, 315, 320 n., 324 n. 

Huicasiques, 339. 

Humana, Antonio Gutierrez de, 200, 
201, 201 n., 204, 205, 208, 209, 213, 
218, 224, 229 n., 251, 258, 261. 

Humari, Captain Francisco, 447. 

Humez Indians, 339. 

Hurtassen, Father Juan de, 436, 450. 

Hutchinson, Kansas, 260 n. 

Hyaqui, 442. 

Ibarra, Diego de, 141, 142, 143, 199, 

271 n. 
Ibarra, Francisco de, 159. 
Ibarra, Joan L6pez de, 170, 185. 
Imuris, 440. 
Indian chiefs, 186, 203, 267, 271, 273, 

276, 287, 288, 304, 348, 349. 



474 



INDEX 



Indian language, 28, 275, 279. 

Indians, 6, 12, 88 n., 128-129, 146, 147, 
154, 155; of California, seen by 
Cabrillo, 17, 19-27; and Ferrelo, 30, 
33, 34, 38; and Vizcaino, 59, 60, 64, 
71-74, 78, 81-90, 92, 97, 98, 102, 
115-120, 124, 125, 128, 132-134; of 
New Mexico, and Rodriguez, 143- 
156, 159; and Espejo, 164, 168-192; 
and Onate, 201, 203-205, 216-218, 
224, 233-238, 241-246, 252, 253, 257- 
264, 268, 270-280; of Texas, and 
Larios and Bosque, 285-288, 296- 
308; and Mendoza, 313-316, 321, 
322, 325, 327, 330, 331, 337-340; and 
Massanet, 365-367, 372-382, 386; 
and De Leon, 389, 390, 395-398, 403, 
407, 410-421; of Pimeria Alta, and 
Kino, 446-453, 458-462; religion and 
the, 74, 83, 84, 107, 121-122, 125, 
132, 285-289, 296-297, 298, 299-300, 
303, 304, 307, 308, 309, 317, 338-339, 
381-382, 433-464; and French set- 
tlement, 397-399, 401-403; see also 
Abas; Abau; Acanis; Achubales; 
Acomas; Aguidas; Aielis; Alche- 
domas; Amacavas; Anchimos; Apa- 
ches; Apes; Arames; Arcos (Los que 
hacen); Babosarigames; Bacoancos; 
Bahacechas; Bajuneros; Beitoni- 
jures; Bibis; Bibits; Bobidas; Bobo- 
les; Cabas; Cabesas; Cacaxtles; Catu- 
janos; Caulas; Cavas; Chanas; 
Chiquitas; Chomenes; Coahuilas; 
Cocapas; Cocomas; Coc6yes; Co- 
labrotes; Conchos; Conchumuchas; 
Conquebacos; Contotores; Cruzados; 
Cuitaos; Cujacos; Cujalos; Cunque- 
bacos; Detobitis; Dijus; Echanco- 
tes; Emmes; Escanjaques; Flechas 
Chiquitas; Gediondos; Geniocanes; 
Guaymas; Gueiquesales; Hagllis; 
Hanasines; Hinehis; Hinsas; Ho- 
comes; Huicasiques; Humez; In- 
james; Isconis; Isuchos; Jeapas; 
Juanas; Jumanos; Machomenes; 
Maguas; Manosprietas; Mansos; 
Mescales ; N a a m a ns ; Nobraches ; 
Ocanes; Oranchos; Ororosos; Ozaras; 
Pachaques; Pacpuls; Pagaiames; Pai- 
abunas; Papanes; Paquachiames ; 
Pasquales; Pataquaques; Pimas; 
Piros; Pojues; Puchames; Puchas; 



Pueblos; Puguahianes; Pylchas; 

Querns; Querechos; Quicuchabes; 

Quisabas; Quitacas; Quiviras; San 

Buenaventura; Siacuchas; Suajos; 

Sumas; Teanames; Teandas; Tejas 

(Texas); Tenimamas; Teroodans; 

Tetecores; Tilijaes; Tlalliquamallas; 

Tlascalas; Tlaxcaltecos; Tobosos; 

Tojumas; Toremes; Unojitas; Vivits; 

Wichitas; Xaesers; Xomans; Ylames; 

Yoricas; Yoyehis; Yumas; Zunis. 
Injames, 339. 

Inojosa, Alonso Nunez, 267. 
Inojosa, Hernando, 231. 
Inojosa, Captain Pablo de Aguilar, 231. 
International Railroad, 306 n. 
Ireland, cows of, 173. 
Isconis, 340, 340 n. 
Isuchos, 339. 
Ilinerario, of Mendoza, 320-343; of 

De Leon in 1689, 388-404; of De 

Le6n in 1690, 405-423; see also 

Ytinerario. 
Iturbi, 50, 109 n., Ill n. 

Jalisco, 201. 

Janos, 447, 451, 458. 

Japan, 43, 109, 119. 

Jarri, Juan, 348. 

Jeapas, 287, 296, 297. 

Jediondos village, 316, 334 n., 339. 

Jesuits, in Pimeria Alta, 425-464. 

Jesus Maria, Father Francisco, 368. 

Jimenez, 4, 437 n. 

Joseph, Indian, 201 n., 205, 209, 224, 

251, 251 n. 
Juan de Dios, 223. 
Juan Rodriguez, Island of, see San 

Miguel Island. 
Juanas, 339. 
Jumana language, 337. 
Jumano Indians, The, F. W. Hodge, 

233 n. 
Jumano Indians in Texas, The, by H. 

E. Bolton, 315 n. 
Jumanos, 166, 190, 204, 215, 216 n., 

225, 225 n., 260 n., 354 n.; Mendoza- 

L6pez expedition to, 164, 311-343. 
Jumees, 308. 
Juni province, see Zufii. 

Kansas, 5, 201. 
Kansas River, 261 n. 



INDEX 



475 



Kappus, Father Marcos Antonio, 442 
n., 444. 

Keeran, Claude, ranch of, 362 n. 

King's Peak, 9. 

Kino (Kuhn), Father Eusebio Fran- 
cisco, 450, 452; biography, 428-430; 
bibliography, 430-432; Report and 
Relation of New Conversions in 
Pimeria Alta, 433-464. 

La Barrera, Bishop Ignacio Dias de, 462. 

La Belle, ship, 400 n. 

La Grange, 412 n. 

La Hasencion del Senor, see Ascenci6n 
del Senor. 

La Junta, 315-318. 

La Paz, 4, 44, 92 n., 98 n., 267. 

La Posesion, see San Miguel Island; 
Port San Quentin. 

La Salle, 347-349, 353 n., 361 n., 362 
n., 400 n., 402 n. 

La Salle's Colony on the Gulf of Mexico, 
The Location of, by H. E. Bolton, 
349 n. 

La Zorra, see Zorra. 

Lagar, see Legar, Miguel de. 

Laguna, 240 n. 

Laguna, Marques de la, 353, 439. 

Laguna de Oro, 130 n., 156 n. 

L'Aimable, ship, 400 n. 

Land of Sunshine, by C. F. Lummis, 
210, 261 n., 271 n., 315 n., 354 n. 

L'Archeveque, Jean, 401, 401 n. 

Larios, Father Juan, 284-287, 289; ex- 
pedition of, 291-309. 

Las Canoas, Rio de, see San Buena- 
ventura. 

Las Casas, Bishop Bartolome de, Bre- 
vissima Relacion de la Distruycion 
de las Indias, 133 n.; Treynte Pro- 
positions muy Juridicas, 134 n. 

Las Ciruelas, 223. 

Las Cruzes, 422. 

Las Vacas River, see Pecos River. 

Lavaca River, 363 n., 370 n., 372 n., 
410 n.; see also San Marcos River. 

Leal, Andres, 100. 

Leal, Father Antonio, 449, 451. 

Ledesma, Francisco de, 160. 

Legar, Miguel de, 53, 67, 67 n., 80, 108 n. 

Legazpi, Miguel L6pez de, 43. 

Le6n, 369; see also Cerralvo, Nuevo 
Le6n. 



Letter Written by Don Juan de Onate 
from New Mexico, 212-222. 

Lettres fidifiantes, 435 n. 

Leyva de Bonilla, Francisco, 200, 201, 
224. 

Libro Diario, by Sebastian Vizcaino, 
48, 54 n., 57 n., 62 n., 68 n., 77 n., 80 
n., 81 n., 87 n., 88 n., 90 n., 92 n. 

Ligama, Domingo de, 231. 

Limpia Conception, Nuestra Sefiora de 
la, 322. 

Limun, see San Salvador. 

Little Arkansas River, 260 n. 

Little Colorado River, 240, 269, 269 n. 

Llanos, Francisco de, 349. 

Llanos del Cibolo, 199, 205; see also 
Zuni. 

Llinaz, Father Antonio, 354, 354 n. 

"Location of La Salle's Colony on the 
Gulf of Mexico," by H. E. Bolton, 
362 n. 

Lomas y Cohnenares, Juan Bautista 
de, 200. 

Lopez, Diego, 100. 

Lopez, Estevan, 76. 

L6pez, Father Francisco, 138, 139, 152, 
164, 165, 168, 179. 

L6pez, Jeronimo, 219. 

L6pez, Father Nicolas, 316-318; ac- 
count of expedition with Mendoza, 
320-343. 

Los Frailes, 94 n., 439. 

Los que hacen Arcos, 339, 339 n. 

Los Ures, 440. 

Losa, see Rio de Losa, Rodrigo del. 

Louisiana, 288. 

Lowery, Woodbury, Spanish Settle- 
ments within the Present Limits of the 
United States, 5 n., 159 n. 

Lowery Collection, 223 n., 239 n. 

Lucero, Nicolas, 332. 

Lummis, Charles F., Land of Sunshine, 
210, 315 n., 354 n., 371 n. 

Luna, Bernardo de, 170. 

Luna, Diego de, 335, 337. 

Lusenilla, Captain Francisco, 438. 

Luxan, Diego Perez de, 167, 170, 
185. 

Luxan, Gaspar de, 170, 185. 

Luxan, Miguel, 332. 

Luz de Tierra Incdgnita, by Manje, 
430, 431. 

Luzuriaga, Father, 364. 



476 



INDEX 



Macatlan, Islas de, see Mazatlan Is- 
lands. 

Machomenes, 356. 

Madalena, see Magdalena Bay. 

Madrid, 140, 354. 

Magdalena Bay, 14, 14 n., 15 n., 61 n. ; 
Cabrillo's expedition reaches, 6; ex- 
plorations of, 46, 59; naming of, 59, 
59 n.; Vizcaino arrives in, 115, 115 n. 

Magdalena River, 224, 252, 252 n., 353, 
353 n., 429; see also Canadian River. 

Magellan, Ferdinand, 4. 

Maguas, 138, 165, 165 n., 180. 

Maize, 26, 148, 155-156, 170, 177. 

Mala Nueva, Rio de la, 235, 235 n. 

Maldonado, Dorantes Castillo, 173. 

Mallea, Juan de, 267. 

Manila galleons, 43, 44, 455, 455 n. 

Manje, Lieutenant Juan Matheo, 442 n. 

Manje, Luz de Tierra Incognita, 430. 

Manosprietas, 291, 306. 

Mansos, 164, 320. 

Mansos River, 320. 

Manzanillo harbor, 13 n. 

Manzano Mountains, 138, 233 n. 

Marcos, Friar, 5, 428. 

Margry, Pierre, Decouvertes et fttablisse- 
ments des Frangais, 375 n. 

Mariana, Father, 457. 

Marias Islands, 112. 

Maricopas, 275; see also Ozaras. 

Mariquita, 221. 

Mdrquez, Captain Ger6nimo, 214-215, 
271, 272. 

Martin, Crist6bal, 199. 

Martin, Captain Ger6nimo, report of 
Cerros Island, 64, 65; surveys of 
land, 66-68, 70, 74. 

Martin, Hernan, 239 n., 248. 

Martinez, Father Alonso, 202, 221. 

Martinez, Enrico, 49. 

Martinez, Captain Francisco, 357, 360, 
364, 368, 377, 396; sent to Mexico, 
404 n., 413 n., 418 n. 

Massanet, Father Damian, 297 n., 396, 
397 n., 401 n., 416, 417, 418, 423 n.; 
accompanies De Le6n to Texas, 348- 
351; Letter to Don Carlos de Si- 
giienza, 350-351, 353-387. 

Matagorda Bay, 348, 349, 350, 353 n., 
357 n., 400 n. 

Matanchel harbor, 438. 

Mayo River, 427. 



Mazatlan, 47, 55 n., 98 n., 99. 
Mazatlan Islands, 54, 54 n., 55, 55 n., 

99, 111, 127, 127 n. 
Mechoacan, see Michoacan. 
Medanos, 202. 
Medina, Nicol&s de, 357. 
Medina, Pedro, Arte de Navegar, 391, 

391 n. 
Medina River, 393, 408, 421, 421 n. 
Melendez, Sebastian, 45, 53, 60, 75, 76, 

79, 83 n., 86, 106; explorations and 

report, 68, 73, 73 n., 74; examines 

Bay of Monterey, 90 n. 
"Memorial," by Alonso de Benavides, 

315 n., 354 n. 
"Memorias de Nueva Espana," 351, 

388 n., 390 n. 
Mendoza, see Zaldfvar Mendoza, Vi- 
cente de. 
Mendoza, Antonio, Conde de Vendilla, 

viceroy, 3, 5, 19, 437. 
Mendoza, Baltasar Dominguez de, 321. 
Mendoza, Hurtado de, 4. 
Mendoza, Juan Dominguez de, 314, 

316-319; Itinerary, 320-343. 
Mendoza, Juan Gonzalez, History of 

China, 167. 
Mendoza, Lorenzo Sua>ez de, see 

Coruna, Count of. 
Mendoza, Pedro Gonzalez de, 167. 
Mendoza-L6pez Expedition to the 

Jumanos, 311-343. 
Menendez de Aviles, Pedro, founder of 

Florida, 43. 
Mesa de los Jumanos, 233 n. 
Mescales, 356, 389. 
Meunier, Pierre, 375, 375 n., 413, 423, 

423 n. 
Mexican Indians, 177, 185. 
Mexico, 3, 43, 44, 115, 128, 139, 163, 

169, 261 n., 264 n., 265 n., 283, 284, 

348, 364, 427, 428. 
Mexico, Audiencia of, 209. 
Mexico, city, 45, 52, 100, 151, 152, 202, 

269, 404, 439, 440 n., 442 n. 
Mexico, Documentos, see Documentos 

para la Historia de Mexico. 
Mexico, Documentos Ineditos, see Gar- 
cia, Genaro. 
Mexico, Guide to the Archives of, by H. 

E. Bolton, 351. 
Michoacan, 3, 69. 
Middle Concho, 317, 334 n. 



INDEX 



477 



Midland County, Texas, 334 n. 

Miguel, Indian, map by, 211; inter- 
preter, 264 n. 

Mines, in northern Mexico, 137, 138, 
142, 143, 169, 170, 427; in New 
Mexico, 150, 152, 157, 158-159, 181, 
189, 192, 283; in Arizona, 165, 166, 
187-188, 204, 216, 239-249, 439. 

Minutuli, Father Ger6nimo, 444. 

Miranda, Alonso de, 170, 185. 

Missions, Father Ascension's views on, 
114r-115, 122-126, 132-134; Fran- 
ciscan, in New Mexico (Rodriguez), 
138, 142, 151, 152, 155, 158; (Bel- 
tran), 163, 165, 168, 169, 179, 181, 
182, 188; (Martinez), 202, 221, 222, 
266; Franciscan, in Texas (Larios), 
284-286, 291-309; (L6pez), 316, 317, 
320, 325, 337, 338; (Massanet), 349, 
350, 354, 355, 364^368, 377, 379-384, 
416, 417; Jesuit, in Pimeria Alta, 
427-430, 433-464. 

Missions and Missionaries of California, 
by Father Z. Engelhardt, 128 n. 

Mississippi River, 313, 347, 348, 353. 

Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 
349 n., 362 n. 

Mixton War, 5. 

Mobile Bay, 348. 

Mohoce, 185, 192, 216-217; see also 
Moqui. 

Monarchia Indiana, by Torquemada, 
46 n., 50, 53 n., 55 n., 56 n., 59 n., 61 
n., 62 n., 65 n., 69 n., 96 n., 108 n., 210. 

Monclova, 200, 285-286, 289, 348, 351, 
357, 368 n., 405, 418, 418 n., 423 n. 

Monclova River, 291, 291 n. 

Mone, Pedro, see Meunier, Pierre. 

Montague Island, 277 n. 

Montelirios, Captain Antonio G6mez, 
267. 

Monterey, Count of, viceroy, 44, 52, 

90 n., 105, 106, 437. 

Monterey, Bay of, 7, 8, 46, 49, 90 n., 

91 n., 106 n., 108 n. 

Monterey, California, 50, 87, 90-93, 

119, 438, 453. 
Monterey, Mexico, 283, 348, 369. 
Montero de Castro, Miguel, 267. 
Montesinos, Alonso G6mez, 267. 
Montezuma, 201. 
Montolla, Felipe, 332. 
Montoya, Juan Martinez de, 267. 



Moqui, 216, 236, 236 n., 441, 442, 453, 
454; Espejo visits, 165; mines dis- 
covered at, 237. 

Moreno de la Rua, Juan de, 267. 

Morlete, Captain Juan, 200. 

Morro Hermoso, 64 n. 

Mount Carmel, 33 n. 

Mountain goat, 22 n. 

Moya de Contreras, Pedro, viceroy, 43. 

Muni, Pedro, see Meunier, Pierre. 

Munoz, Father Diego, 210. 

Munoz, Juan, 267. 

Munoz collection, 11. 

Naamans, 420 n. 

Nadadores River, 200, 287, 292, 293 
n., 388. 

Naranjo, Alonso, 267. 

Narvaez, Panfilo, enters Florida, 173. 

National Geographic Magazine, 289. 

Native Tribes about the East Texas Mis- 
sions, by H. E. Bolton, 349 n., 376 n. 

Natividad Island, 17, 65 n., 68 n. 

Navarrete, Martin Fernandez, Atlas, 
Sutil y Mexicana, 49; Relacion, Sutil 
y Mexicana, 10 n., 15 n., 17 n., 21 n., 
22 n., 25 n., 32 n., 34 n. 

Navidad, port, 10, 13, 13 n., 54, 54 n., 
115, 127, 325, 325 n., 439; mari- 
time base at, 3; Cabrillo's expedition 
from, 6. 

Navidad River, 412 n. 

Neches River, 349, 350, 353, 353 n., 
376 n., 379 n. 

Ne-Ne-Schah River, 260 n. 

Neue Welt Bott, 431. 

New France, 357. 

New Galicia, see Nueva Galicia. 

New Mexican History, Leading Facts 
of, by Twitchell, 145 n., 175 n., 176 
n., 188 n. 

New Mexico, 44, 130, 130 n., 313, 324, 
325, 329, 337, 347, 353, 354, 355, 365, 
424, 444, 453, 454; Rodriguez ex- 
pedition into, 137-160; Espejo ex- 
pedition into, 161-195; Onate expe- 
ditions in, 199-280; Sosa in, 283. 

New Spain, 38, 53 n., 98 n., 106 n., 119, 
143, 144, 201, 202 n., 219, 236, 303 
n., 445; Cabrillo explores coast, 13; 
Indians in, 88; discoveries in, 105; 
Peru sends ships to, 114; see also 
Mexico. 



478 



INDEX 



Newfoundland, 4. 

Niebla, Spain, 138. 

Niel, Father Amando, "Apunta- 
mientos," 315 n. 

Niza, see Marcos, Friar. 

Nobraches, 340. 

Nogales, 448 n. 

Nombre de Jesus River, 213, 275, 275 
n., 276, 277; see also Gila River. 

North Mexican States and Texas, by 
H. H. Bancroft, 4 n., 5 n., 142 n., 
428 n., 429 n., 453 n. 

"North Sea," 187, 199, 200, 265 n., 
272, 436, 450. 

Northwest Cape, 8, 9, 31 n., 36, 36 n., 
37. 

Northwest Coast, History of, By H. H. 
Bancroft, 453 n. 

Nueces River, 287, 313, 314, 315, 316, 
317, 334, 334 n., 336, 336 n., 338 n., 
391, 391 n., 406, 407. 

Nuestra Senora de Atocha, de Belen, 
de Guadalupe, de Regla, de la Can- 
delaria, de la Conception, de la 
Limpia Concepci6n, de la Paz, de la 
Piedad, de la Soledad, de los Do- 
lores, de los Remedios, del Buen 
Suceso, del Carmen, del Pilar de 
Saragosa, del Populo, del Rosario, 
del Transito, see Atocha, Belen, 
Guadalupe, Regla, Candelaria, Con- 
cepci6n, Limpia Concepci6n, Paz, 
Piedad, Soledad, Dolores, Reme- 
dios, Buen Suceso, Carmen, Pilar de 
Saragosa, Populo, Rosario, Transito; 
see also Our Lady. 

Nuestro Padre San Antonio, see San 
Antonio. 

Nuestro Padre San Francisco, see San 
Francisco. 

Nueva Estremadura, 207; see also 
Coahuila. 

Nueva Galicia, 55 n., 152, 158, 200, 
284, 435, 438; Audiencia of, 289. 

Nueva Mexico, Historia de la, by G. 
Villagra, 206, 209, 212 n.-216 n., 223 
n., 224 n., 227 n., 233 n., 234 n., 236 
n., 238 n.; see also Nuevo Mexico. 

Nueva Vizcaya, 139, 145, 151-152, 
163, 168, 179, 185, 192, 284, 308, 338, 
410; mines in, 158-159; Father Bel- 
trdn arrives at, 165; Espejo leaves, 
195, 200. 



Nuevo Almad6n, see Monclova. 
Nuevo Espejo Geogrdfico, 454, 454 n. 
Nuevo Le6n, 283, 284, 348, 350, 353, 

354, 357, 367, 369, 369 n., 388. 
Nuevo Le6n, Historia de, by Alonso De 

Leon, 286 n., 349 n., 352, 353, 357 

n., 388 n., 390 n., 397 n., 399 n., 401 

n., 403 n., 404 n. 
Nuevo Leon, Lecciones Orales de Historia 

de, by E. J. Gonzalez, 286 n. 
Nuevo Mexico, Alsamiento General de 

los Indios de, 318, 320 n. 
Nuevo Mexico, Cronica, by Baltasar de 

Obreg6n, 140-141, 167. 
Nuevo Mexico, Relaciones de, by Zarate- 

Salmer6n, 51, 210, 259 n., 260 n., 

261 n., 262 n., 264 n. 
Nuevo Reyno de Le6n, see Nuevo Le6n. 

Obreg6n, Baltasar de, Crdnica, 140- 
141, 167; Relacidn, 193 n. 

Obreg6n, Luis Gonzalez, 210. 

Ocanes, 297, 308. 

Ogalde, Captain, 371. 

Olague, Juan de, 231. 

Olid, 3. 

Ona River, 287, 299. 

Oflate, Alonso de, 207. 

Ofiate, Crist6bal, 201, 267. 

Ofiate, Don Juan de, 44, 50, 112, 117, 
130 n., 166, 428; expeditions of, 201- 
206; sources respecting, 206-211; 
Letter from New Mexico, 212-222; 
Discovery of the Buffalo, 223; Ac- 
count of the Journey to the Salines, 
the Jumanos, and the Sea, 233-238; 
Account of the Discovery of the 
Mines, 239-249; Account of Expedi- 
tion to the East, 250-267; Journey 
to California, 268-280. 

Ontiveras, Captain Juan, 163, 169. 

Opodepe, Valley of, 451. 

Oposura, 459, 459 n. 

Oranchos, 340. 

Order of Our Lady of Carmen, see Car- 
melites, Carmen. 

Oregon, 3. 

Ororosos, 339. 

Oros, Don Pedro, 223. 

Ortega, Captain Francisco de, 45 n., 
438. 

Ortega, J. F., Apostdlicos Afanes de la 
Compahia de Jestis, 428 n., 429 n., 430. 



INDEX 



479 



Ortiz, Juan, 231. 

Otata, 279-280. 

Otermin, Governor, 314. 

Our Lady of the Assumption, see As- 
sumption. 

Our Lady of Bethlehem, see Bethlehem. 

Our Lady of Carmel, see Carmel. 

Our Lady of Carmen, see CarmeL 

Oyaut, 449 n. 

Oyuela, Father Manuel de la, 435, 435 
n., 445. 

Ozaras, 275, 278-279; see also Mari- 
copas. 

Pachaques, 304. 

Pacheco, see Coleccidn de Documentos 
Ineditos. 

Pacific Ocean, 3, 43; see also South Sea. 

Pacpuls, 356. 

Paez, Juan, 10, 11. 

Pagaiames, 340. 

Paiabunas, 340. 

Pajarito, 291. 

Palacios, Captain Ger6nimo Martin 
de, 45, 47, 52, 52 n., 107. 

Palacios, Juan de, 442, 446, 447. 

Palmas River, 348, 353 n. 

Panama^ 3. 

Panuco, 283. 

Panuco River, 4. 

Papanes, 340. 

Paquachiames, 356. 

Parral, mines, 137, 138, 315. 

Pasqual, Indian, 301. 

Pataguaques, 297. 

Patarabueyes, 225. 

Paz, Nuestra Sefiora de la, 437, 438. 

Pazaguantes, 164, 168. 

Pearls, 44, 212, 314, 316, 427. 

Pecos province, 216, 225 n., 226 n. 

Pecos River, 139, 166, 189, 200, 223, 
287 n., 297 n., 316, 329, 329 n., 330, 
331, 342, 343; see also San Buena- 
ventura River. 

Pedraca, Juan de, 231. 

Peguero, Captain Alonso Estevan, 45, 
52, 66, 67 n., 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 94, 
106, 106 n. 

Pefialosa, Diego de, 347. 

Pehalosa, by C. F. Duro, 315 n. 

Pefiasco, Father Dionysio de, 285-287. 

Pequefia Bay, 14, 14 n., 15 n. 

Perea, Father Antonio, 368, 368 n. 



Perez de Ribas, Father, 427; Historia de 

los Triumphos de Nuestra Fe, 428 n. 
Perlas River, 336, 336 n.; see also San 

Pedro River. 
Peru, trade, 219. 

Pescado Blanco Bay, 69 n., 70, 70 n. 
Pez, commander, 348. 
Philip III., 52, 106, 202, 250, 437. 
Philip, IV., 438. 
Philip V., 455. 
Philippine Islands, 13 n., 43, 53 n., 70; 

fleet sent to, 5; trade with Mexico, 

43; ships from, 91 n., 119. 
Picolo, Father Francisco Maria, 435, 

442, 455, 460. 
Picuries province, 216, 226, 254. 
Piedad, Nuestra Sefiora de la, 341, 342. 
Piedras Negras, 306 n. 
Pilar de Saragosa, Nuestra Sefiora del, 

321. 
Pimas, 428, 440, 441, 442 n., 444, 446, 

449, 450, 458. 
Pimas Sobaipuris, 447, 448, 458. 
Pimeria Alta, 428, 429, 430, 441 n., 451; 

Jesuits in, 433-464. 
Pinanaca, 287, 299. 
Pinero, Captain Joan, 222. 
Pines, Bay of, see Drake's Bay. 
Pinilla, Father Luis, 441 n. 
Pinos, Cabo de, see Northwest Cape. 
Pinos Bay, see Drake's Bay. 
Piros, 233 n., 336. 
Pianos, of Vizcaino's explorations, 49, 

69 n., 73, 77 n., 79 n., 80 n., 83 n., 

90 n., 95 n. 
Platte River, 201. 
Playa Maria Bay, 17 n., 69 n. 
Point Afio Nuevo, 7, 32 n., 90 n. 
Point Arena, 9, 36 n., 37 n. 
Point Arguello, 29 n. 
Point Canoas, 17 n., 69 n.; see also 

Point of Poor Shelter. 
Point Carmel, 32 n. 
Point Conception, 7, 27, 27 n., 28, 29, 

30, 30 n., 46, 89 n., 90 n.; see also 

Cape Galera. 
Point Delgada, 36 n. 
Point Diggs, 277 n. 
Point Eugenio, 65 n. 
Point Goleta, 7. 
Point of Poor Shelter, 17, 17 n., 18, 

69 n. 
Point Pinos, 7, 8, 31, 31 n., 32, 33. 



480 



INDEX 



Point Reyes, 94 n. 

Point Santo Tomds, 21, 21 n.; see also 

Cape San Quentin. 
Pojues, 340. 

Polise, Horacio, 442, 445, 446, 447. 
Popocatepetl, volcano, 93 n. 
P6pulo, Nuestra Sefiora del, 324. 
Port San Quentin, 6, 10, 19, 38 n., 72 

n., 73 n., 78 n., 453 n.; see also 

Eleven Thousand Virgins, Bay of. 
Porter Casanate, see Casanate. 
Portillo, Esteban L., 300 n.; Apuntes 

para la Historia Antigua de Coahuila 

y Texas, 286 n., 289, 357 n. 
Portold, expedition, 132. 
Posadas, Fray Alonso de, 318. 
Posesi6n, Isla de la, see San Miguel 

Island. 
Possession, Port of, see Puerto de la 

Posesi6n. 
Prieto, Alejandro, Historia, Geografia 

y Estadistica del Estado de Tamau- 

Upas, 286 n. 
Prietto, Captain Nicolas, 383. 
Puaray, 139, 148, 149, 152, 215-216, 

233, 234 n. 
Puchames, 340. 
Puchas, 340. 

Pueblo de las Canoas, see San Buena- 
ventura. 

Pueblo Indians, 137, 146-150, 152, 155, 
156, 158, 159, 165, 176, 177, 179, 
181-186, 189, 200, 203, 204, 213, 218, 

234, 235; revolt of, 314, 428. 
Puerto de Qalagua, 55 n. 

Puerto de Don Gaspar, see Drake's Bay. 
Puerto de la Posesi6n, see Cuyler'a 

Harbor, Port San Quentin. 
Puerto del Marques del Valle, 13 n. 
Puguahianes, 340. 
Pumames, Los, 181-182. 
Punta Baja, 18, 18 n., 19 n. 
Punta de Afio Nuevo, 90 n. 
Punta del Mai Abrigo, see Point of 

Poor Shelter. 
Purisima, 29 n. 
Pylchas, 340. 

Quaguila, Nueva Estremadura de, see 

Coahuila. 
Querns, 355, 357 n. 
Querechos, 217. 
Queres, 200, 234. 



QuerStaro, 350, 354 n., 364. 
Quesada, Captain Alonso de, 237, 239 

n., 241. 
Quiburi, 446, 451, 453, 462. 
Quicuchabes, 339. 
Quigyuma, 276 n. 
Quiquimas, 449 n., 459, 460. 
Quiquimas River, 443 n. 
Quires, 165, 181, 188. 
Quisabas, 340. 
Quitacas, 339. 
Quivira, 109-110, 129, 131, 193, 199, 

205-206, 210, 263 n., 313, 347, 354, 

355, 453, 453 n.; Pefialosa and, 315, 

317-318. 

Ramlres, Juan Mateo, 351, 445. 
Ramirez, manuscript of, 351. 
Ram6n, Captain Diego, 297 n. 
Ramos, Alonso, 371. 
Ramos, Arroyo de, see Nueces River. 
Ranjel, Juan, 267. 
Rascon, Francisco, 267. 
Red River Valley, 349. 
Regla, Nuestra Sefiora de, 323. 
Relacidn, by H. Gallegos, 148 n., 150 n. 
Relacidn, by Alonso de Le6n, 349, 350. 
Relacidn, by Baltasar de Obreg6n, 193 n. 
Relacidn Breve, by Father Antonio As- 

censi6n, 50, 53 n., 104-134. 
Relacidn Breve, by Escalante and Bar- 

rando, 140, 153-157, 167. 
Relacidn de como los Padres de San 

Francisco, 234 n. 
Relacidn de los Ensayes que se hicieron 

de ciertas Minas, 237 n. 
Relacidn del Descubrimiento de las 

Salinas de Cuni, 236 n. 
Relaciones de Nuevo Mexico, by Z&rate- 

Salmer6n, 51, 210, 259 n., 260 n., 261 

n., 262 n., 264 n.; translation from, 

268-280. 
Relaciones que envid Don Juan de Onate, 

233 n. 
Remedios, Nuestra Sefiora de los, 

Arizona, 440. 
Remedios, Nuestra Sefiora de los, 

Texas, 324. 
Remo, S., 5. 

Reno County, Kansas, 260 n. 
Report and Relation of the New Con- 
versions by Eusebio Francisco Kino, 

433-464. 



INDEX 



481 



Report of the Viceroy to the King, 158- 
160. 

Republican River, 261 n. 

Reyes, Christ6val de los, 100. 

Reyes Bay, see Drake's Bay. 

Richman, LB., California under Spain 
and Mexico, 49, 94 n. 

Rinc6n, 7. 

Rio de Losa, Rodrigo del, 139, 140, 
158, 219. 

Rio del Coral, 444; see also Colorado 
River. 

Rio del Norte, 173-175, 176, 181, 182, 
188, 202, 212, 213, 291, 296, 320, 
321, 322, 323, 324, 325; see also Rio 
Grande. 

Rio del Norte (Colorado), 444, 450, 452. 

Rio Grande, 138, 165, 200, 233 n., 234 
n., 251, 283, 284, 287, 288, 296, 305 
n., 306 n., 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 
326 n., 329 n., 348, 352, 353 n., 354, 
357 n., 369 n., 442, 444, 448, 455; see 
also Rio del Norte. 

Rio Tuerto, 233 n. 

Rivas, 348. 

Robalos, see Vino. 

Robledo, Alonso, 267. 

Robledo, Diego, 231. 

Rodriguez, Father Agustin, 138-141, 
168, 169, 199; narratives of expedi- 
tion of, 142-160; death of, 164, 165, 
179. 

Rodriguez, Estevan, 53. 

Rodriguez, Juan, 239 n., 248, 267. 

Rogue River, 9, 37 n., 47. 

Romero, Captain Bartolome, 239 n., 
248, 267. 

Romero, Captain Felipe, 332. 

Rosario, Nuestra Sefiora del, 323. 

Ruiz, see Rodriguez, Father Agustin. 

Russian River, 31 n. 

Saavedra, reaches Santiago, 4. 
Sabaleta, see Zavaleta, Father Juan de. 
Sabeata, Juan, 315, 318, 320, 331, 332, 

336, 340. 
Sabinas River, 200, 285, 287, 294, 294 

n., 308, 388, 406, 423 n. 
Sacatsol, 297 n., 356. 
Sacramento River, 269, 317. 
Saeta, Father, 442 n. 
Saint Catharine the Martyr, 293, 293 

n.: see also Santa Catalina. 



Saint Francis Xavier, see Xavier, Saint 

Francis. 
St. Joseph River, 295 n. 
Saint Paul the Hermit, 304, 304 n., 305. 
Salado River, see Pecos River; San 

Buenaventura River. 
Salas, Juan de, 231, 313. 
Salas Barbadillo, Diego de, 167. 
Salazar, Father Antonio de, 462. 
Salazar, Father Crist6bal de, 222. 
Salcedo, Joseph de, 371. 
Saldivar, see Zaldivar. 
Salinas Varona, Captain Gregorio de, 

349, 370, 377, 407 n., 412 n., 418 n. 
Saline River, 261 n. 
Salines, 192, 220, 233-238, 261 n., 459. 
Salmer6n, see Zarate-Salmer6n. 
Saltelga, 55, 55 n. 
Saltillo, 200, 283, 285, 286 n., 289, 290, 

298, 309, 309 n., 357 n., 367, 371, 

372. 
Salvago, 219. 
Salvatierra, Father Juan Maria de, 

441, 441 n., 442, 442 n., 443, 445, 463. 
San Agustin, Arizona, 449. 
San Agustin, ship, 95 n. 
San Agustin, Texas, 341. 
San Agustin Island, California, 20, 77 n. 
San Alberto, province, 106. 
San Ambrosio, Texas, 306, 307. 
San Ambrosio del Busanic, 446, 460. 
San Andres Island, 112. 
San Andres mine, 271, 271 n. 
San Angelo, 336 n. 
San Anselmo, 329. 
San Antonio, Nuestro Padre, 326. 
San Antonio de Busanic, 444. 
San Antonio de Padua, 417 n. 
San Antonio del Tucubabia, 441 n. 
San Antonio del Uquitoa, 441 n., 444. 
San Antonio River, 269, 269 n., 270 n., 

308, 309, 395 n. 
San Atanacio, 340, 341. 
San Bartolome, 61-64, 65, 65 n., 116, 

116 n., 137, 138, 163, 165, 166, 168, 

202, 307, 321. 
San Bartolome, valley of, 170, 190, 192. 
San Bernabe, 57, 58, 115. 
San Bernabe Bay, 56, 98 n., Ill, 113, 

115. 
San Bernardino, 415, 418. 
San Bernardino de Sena, 328. 
San Bernardo, see San Ger6nimo Island. 



482 



INDEX 



San Bissente Ferrer, see San Vicente 

Ferrer. 
San Bruno, 438. 
San Buenaventura, Father Dionisio de, 

268, 285, 287, 291, 292, 295, 298, 300, 

303, 304. 
San Buenaventura, California, 7, 9, 

25 n., 26 n., 30 n., 38 n.; coast near, 

117 n. 
San Buenaventura River, 252, 252 n., 

305. 
San Carlos, 415. 
San Carlos valley, 417 n., 418. 
San Cayetano, 448, 448 n., 449 n. 
San Christ6bal, 329-330. 
San Clemente, 338, 338 n., 339, 339 n., 

340, 342. 
San Clemente Island, 24, 24 n., 83 n. 
San Clemente River, 337, 338. 
San Cosme del Tucson, 449 n. 
San Diego, California, 76-82, 116, 118, 

455. 
San Diego, ship, 45, 46, 47, 53, 54, 57, 

62 n., 66, 80 n., 84 n., 90 n., 95 n., 

96 n., 98 n. 
San Diego, Texas, 335. 
San Diego Bay, 6, 9, 23 n., 38, 38 n., 

46, 80 n., 83 n. 
San Diego de Alcald, 414, 414 n., 418. 
San Diego River, 305 n., 306, 306 n. 
San Domingo Point, 15, 15 n. 
San Esteban, 309. 

San Esteban Island, see Natividad Is- 
land. 
San Felipe, New Mexico, 145; (an- 
other) 233 n. 
San Felipe de Jesus, Coahuila, 292. 
San Fernando River, 306 n. 
San Francisco, Arizona, 449. 
San Francisco, Nuestro Padre, Texas, 

326. 
San Francisco, order of, see Franciscans. 
San Francisco Bay, California, 48. 
San Francisco Bay, Lower California, 

69 n., 72. 
San Francisco de Asis, Texas, 413, 

419. 
San Francisco de los Texas, 415, 418. 
San Francisco del Adid, 448. 
San Francisco del Paso, 292-293. 
San Francisco Mountain, Arizona, 

240 n. 
San Francisco River, Coahuila, 308. 



San Francisco River, New Mexico, 254, 

259, 259 n. 
San Francisco Xavier, Texas, 328, 

328 n. 
San Francisco Xavier del Bac, 443 n., 

447, 449, 449 n., 460. 
San Francisco Xavier valley, 415. 
San Gabriel, Father, commissary, 210. 
San Gabriel, Arizona, 429, 448. 
San Gabriel, New Mexico, 251, 268, 

280. 
San Gasp&r valley, 417 n. 
San Ger6nimo Island, 69-72, 202, 342. 
San Gregorio, Chihuahua, 145. 
San Gregorio, Nuevo Le6n, 283. 
San Gregorio Nazianzeno, 297, 412 n.; 

Texas, 297; (another) 412 n. 
San Hilario Island, 77 n. 
San Hipolito Bay, 63, 63 n., 69 n.; see 

also Blanco Bay; Pescado Blanco. 
San Honofre, see San Onofre. 
San Ignacio, mission in Pimeria, 440, 

441 n., 444, 449, 451, 461. 
San Ignacio de Loyola, mission in 

Texas, 331, 332, 342. 
San Ildefonso, New Mexico, 200. 
San Ildefonso, Texas, 294, 294 n. 
San Isidro Labrador, New Mexico, 299, 

301-302, 305. 
San Isidro Labrador, Texas, 337. 
San Jorge, 303, 304, 308. 
San Jose, 269. 

San Joseph, Sonora, 440, 444. 
San Joseph, Texas, 333, 334; (another) 

419, 419 n. 
San Joseph de Himires, 444. 
San Joseph de Terrenate, 447, 453. 
San Juan, New Mexico, 203, 204, 233, 

329. 
San Juan, Pimeria, 459, 462. 
San Juan Bautista, 229 n., 287 n., 297 

n., 357 n., 390 n. 
San Juan Creek, 418. 
San Juan de Di6s, 32, 330, 343. 
San Juan de Ulua, 101, 118. 
San Juan del Rio, 329, 330. 
San Juan Evangelista, 295. 
San Juan River, 414, 414 n. 
San L&zaro, Pimeria, 441 n. 
San Ldzaro, Texas, 341. 
San Ldzaro Islands, see Philippine Is- 
lands. 
San Lorenzo, 316, 320, 327. 



INDEX 



483 



San Lorenzo del Saric, 441 n. 

San Lucar, Spain, 80 n. 

San Lucas Bay, 13, 13 n., 14, 46; see 

also Cape San Lucas. 
San Lucas Island, 7, 26, 27, 28; see also 

Santa Rosa Island. 
San Luis de Bacoancos, 448, 448 n., 

449 n. 
San Marcelo del Sonoydag, 445. 
San Marcos, 233 n., 333. 
San Marcos River, 370, 372-375, 401 

n., 402, 410, 412, 413, 419; see also 

Colorado River (of Texas); Lavaca 

River. 
San Martin, Father Juan de, 449 n. 
San Martin Bay, see Santa Maria Bay. 
San Martin Islands, 77, 77 n., 79, 79 n. 
San Mateo Bay, see Todos Santos Bay. 
San Miguel, Father Francisco de, 210, 

223. 
San Miguel Arcangel, Texas, 334, 335. 
San Miguel Arcangel River, Texas, 

412 n., 417, 417 n. 
San Miguel Bay, see San Diego Bay. 
San Miguel County, New Mexico, 

252 n. 
San Miguel del Tupo, 441 n. 
San Miguel Island, California, 7, 8, 9, 

10, 33, 33 n., 38 n., 39 n., 90 n. 
San Miguel River, Sonora, 429, 440 n. 
San Nicolas, Texas, 326. 
San Nicolas Island, 83 n., 87 n. 
San Onofre, 333. 
San Pablo, port in Sonora, 277. 
San Pablo, Texas, 287; (another) 332, 

333; (another) 337. 
San Pablo Bay, Lower California, 16 n. 
San Pablo del Tubutama, see San Pedro 

y San Pablo del Tubutama. 
San Pablo Ermitano, see Saint Paul the 

Hermit. 
San Pantaleon River, 342, 343. 
San Pedro, Puerto de, California, 14, 

59 n., 115 n. 
San Pedro, ship, 61 n., 65 n. 
San Pedro Bay, 83 n., 86 n., 87 n. 
San Pedro Creek, Texas, 376 n., 416. 
San Pedro de Alcantara, 327-328. 
San Pedro Martir, 410, 411 n. 
San Pedro River, New Mexico, 202. 
San Pedro River, Pimeria, 447 n. 
San Pedro River, Texas, 336, 336 n., 

337; see also Perlas River. 



San Pedro valley, 428, 446 n., 451 n., 

458. 
San Pedro Vincula, 16, 64 n.; see also 

San Bartolome. 
San Pedro y San Pablo de Tubutama, 

441 n., 443 n., 444, 449. 
San Ramon Bay, 77 n. 
San Reymundo de Pena Forte de 

Fuertes Aires, 295. 
San Roque Island, 15 n., 63 n., 64. 
San Salvador, Lower California, 7, 24, 

83 n. 
San Salvador, Mexico, 356, 356 n., 364 

368. 
San Salvador, flagship, 5. 
San Sebastian valley, 414 n., 415, 418. 
San Sebastian villa, 98 n. 
San Serafin, 449. 

San Simon y San Judas Bay, 77, 78. 
San Vicente Ferrer, 297, 297 n., 298, 

299, 336, 337, 338 n. 
San Xavier del Bac, 429, 442 n., 461 n. 
San Ygnacio, see San Ignacio. 
San Yldefonso, see San Ildefonso. 
San Ysidro, see San Isidro. 
Sanches, Diego Luis, 292, 299, 309. 
Sanchez, Alonzo, 231, 247 n., 267. 
Sanchez, Crist6bal, 170, 185. 
Sanchez, Francisco, 138. 
Sandoval, Father Pedro de, 441 n. 
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 226 n. 
Santa Ana, see Asunci6n Point. 
Santa Ana de Hiburi, see Quiburi. 
Santa Balbola, see Santa Barbara. 
Santa Barbara, Chihuahua, 137, 138, 

142, 143, 144, 145, 149, 150, 151, 152, 

154, 158, 163, 166, 168, 169, 170, 

192, 193, 210, 215. 
Santa Barbara Canal, 7, 46, 87 n., 90 n. 
Santa Barbara Island, 83 n., 87 n., 

118 n. 
Santa Barbola, see Santa Barbara. 
Santa Catalina Island, see Catalina Is- 
land; Saint Catharine; San Salvador. 
Santa Catalina Point, see San Domingo 

Point. 
Santa Clara Mountain, 306, 435, 443 

n., 445. 
Santa Clara Port, see Playa Maria 

Bay. 
Santa Cruz, California, 90 n. 
Santa Cruz, Coahuila, 293, 309. 
Santa Cruz, New Mexico, 233 n. 



484 



INDEX 



Santa Cruz, Texas, 340-341. 

Santa Cruz Island, 7, 8, 9, 34, 34 n., 

35, 38, 38 n., 90 n. 
Santa Cruz Mountains, 8. 
Santa Cruz River, 441 n., 443 n., 447, 

447 n. 
Santa Cruz valley, 448 n., 458 n. 
Santa Elvira valley, 414, 418. 
Santa Fe, 203, 233 n., 255 n., 313, 453. 
Santa Inez, 29 n., 121. 
Santa Lucia Mountain, 7, 30, 30 n., 46. 
Santa Margarita, Sierra of, California, 

58 n., 59 n., 417 n. 

Santa Margarita, valley of, Texas, 

417 n. 
Santa Margarita Island, Lower Cali- 
fornia, 14 n. 
Santa Maria, Father Juan de, 138; 

death of, 165, 168, 168 n., 181. 
Santa Maria Bay, 14 n., 15, 15 n. 
Santa Maria Cape, California, 69, 69 n. 
Santa Maria de Baseraca, 446, 447, 451, 

452. 
Santa Maria Magdalena, bay of, 58; 

see also Magdalena Bay. 
Santa Maria Magdalena, Pimeria, 441 

n., 444, 451. 
Santa Maria River, 244; see also Santa 

Cruz River. 
Santa Marina Bay, 14 n., 58, 58 n., 

59 n., 60. 

Santa Marta Bay, 61, 61 n. 

Santa Monica Bay, 87 n. ; discovery of, 

7,25. 
Santa Rosa Island, 7, 8, 10, 33, 34, 35, 

35 n., 38, 38 n., 39 n. 
Santa Rosa Mountains, 306 n. 
Santa Tereza, 444. 
Santiago, Diego de, 103. 
Santiago, Mexico, 4; point, 62 n.; port, 

115, 115 n. 
Santiago de Coc6spera, 441 n., 448. 
Santiago de Jalisco, 284. 
Santisima Trinidad, 321. 
Santo Domingo, 330. 
Santo Thomas de Villanueva, 343. 
Santo Tomds, ship, 45, 46, 49, 50, 53, 

61 n., 62 n., 63 n., 92 n. 
Sarco River, 392, 407, 422, 422 n.; see 

also Frio River. 
Sardinas, Las, 29, 35. 
Saric, 441 n. 
Scherer, Geographia Hierarchica, 432. 



Serano, Captain Hernando Martin, 

321, 332, 337, 343. 
Serros Island, see Cerros. 
Shea, J. G., The Catholic Church in 

America, 355 n. 
Shell Point, 277 n. 
Shelter Cove, 36 n. 
Sia, 165. 
Siacuchas, 339. 
Sierra Dacate, 287, 297, 297 n., 307; 

see also Anacacho Mountain. 
Sierra de Santa Rosa, 293 n. 
Sierra Gigantia, 277 n. 
Sierra Pintada or del Enfado, 114, 

128 n. 
Sierra Sacatsol, 287 n., 297 n. 
Sierra Santa Lucia, 32 n. 
Sierra Son6yta, 277, 277 n. 
Sierras de San Martin, see Santa Lucia 

Mountain. 
Sierras Nevadas, 8, 32, 32 n.; see also 

Santa Cruz Mountains. 
Sigiienza y G6ngora, Carlos, 428 n.; 

map by, 351, 357 n., 362 n., 388 n., 

390 n.; letter of Massanet to, 353- 

387 
SilverHill, 283. 
Silver mines, 239-249, 269. 
Sinaloa, 55 n., 427, 441, 442. 
Sinaloa River, 438. 
Smith, Buckingham, Coleccidn de Varios 

Documentos para la Historia de la 

Florida, 11, 26 n., 351. 
Smokes, Bay of the, 24. 
Smoky Hill River, 261 n. 
Smugglers' Cove, 38, 38 n. 
Snively's Holes, 240 n. 
Sobaipuris, 444, 449. 
Soledad, Nuestra Senora de la, 322. 
Solis, Antonio, 332. 
Solo River, 354, 354 n.; see also Salado 

River. 
Solomon River, 261 n. 
Sombrerete, 367. 
Sommervogel, Father Carlos, Biblio- 

theque de la Compagnie de Jesus, 

429 n. 
Son6ita, 435 n., 443 n., 445 n. 
Sonora, 279, 279 n., 427, 446, 451, 452, 

455, 458. 
Sonora River, 427, 440 n. 
Sonoydag, 445. 
Soriano, Juan Francisco, 53. 



INDEX 



485 



Sosa, Esteban de, 231. 

Sosa, Gaspar Castano de, 200, 283. 

Sotomayor, see Balcarcel Rivadeneira 

Sotomayor. 
South Sea, 3, 43, 52, 80, 104-105, 106, 

200, 204, 205, 206, 212, 215, 216, 219, 

265, 268. 
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 286 

n., 315 n. 
Spain, 48, 199, 348, 355. 
Spanish Settlements, by Woodbury 

Lowery, 5 n., 159 n. 
Spenser River, 244 n. 
Suajos, 339. 

Sumas, 164, 316, 317, 321, 322, 323. 
Suriano, Juan Francisco, 64, 64 n., 72, 

74, 106, 106 n. 
Sutil y Mexicana, by M. F. Navarrete, 

10 n., 15 n., 17 n., 21 n., 22 n., 25 n., 

32 n., 34 n. 

Table-Head Cove, see San Pablo Bay. 

Tabora, Gaspar Lopez de, 267. 

Tagago, 347. 

Talon, Madeleine, 420. 

Talon, Pierre, 375, 375 n., 412, 412 n. 

Talon, Robert, 420. 

Tamburini, Father Michele Angelo, 

462, 462 n., 463, 464. 
Tampico, 353. 
Tancoa, 264 n. 

Tanos, 165, 189, 189 n., 192, 223. 
Taos province, 200, 216 n., 254 n. 
Teanames, 288. 
Teandas, 340. 

Teggart, Professor Frederick J., 49. 
Teguas, see Tiguas. 
Teguayo, Gran, 453 n. 
Tehua, 200, 233 n. 
Tehuantepec, 3. 
Teimamar, 288. 
Tejas, 288-289, 314, 315, 339, 348, 349, 

351. 
Tejas River, see Neches River. 
Tejeda, see Texada, Juan de Acevedo. 
Tenimamas, 287, 299. 
Teran, Domingo de, 349, 349 n., 350. 
Teroodans, 288. 
Terrenate, 447, 453. 
Tetecores, 307. 
Tewa, 233 n. 
Texada, Juan de Acevedo, 77, 106, 

108 n. 



Texas, Agricultural and Mechanical 
College of, 351. 

Texas, Bosque-Larios expedition into, 
281-309; Mendoza-L6pez expedition 
of, 311-343; De Le6n's expeditions 
into, 348-352; Massanet's account 
of, 353-387; expedition of 1689 into, 
388-404; expedition of 1690 into, 
405-423. 

Texas, by G. P. Garrison, 349 n. 

Texas, The Beginnings of, by R. C. 
Clark, 349 n., 392 n., 394 n. 

Texas, The Spanish Occupation of, by 
H. E. Bolton, 315 n. 

Texas Indians, 415; see also Tejas. 

Texas Missions, Native Tribes about 
the East, by H. E. Bolton, 349 n., 
376 n. 

Texas Panhandle, 255 n. 

Texas State Historical Association, 
Quarterly, 172 n., 178 n., 190 n., 315 
n., 349 n., 350, 351, 376. 

Theas, 355. 

Thoaga, 419 n. 

Ticlas, 355. 

Tiguas, 138, 179, 200; Espejo among 
the, 164-165, 168; Ofiate among the, 
213, 216, 216 n., 233, 233 n. 

Tilijaes, 304. 

Tintoque, point, 55. 

Tizon River, 112, 130, 271, 273; see also 
Colorado. 

Tlalliquamallas, 276, 276 n.; see also 
Halliquamaya; Quigyuma. 

Tlascalas, 309, 309 n. 

Tlaxcaltecos, see Tlascalas. 

Toape, 448. 

Tobar, Pedro de, 184. 

Tobosos, 164. 

Todos Santos Bay, 9, 22, 38, 38 n., 79, 
79 n. 

Todos Santos Islands, 22 n., 79 n. 

Todos Santos port, see El Coxo. 

Tojumas, 340. 

Tomas, interpreter, 238. 

Toporica, see Aura River. 

Toremes, 339. 

Torquemada, Juan de, Monarchia In- 
diana, 13 n., 46 n., 47, 50, 53 n., 55 
n., 56 n., 59 n., 61 n., 62 n., 65 n., 69 
n., 76 n., 77 n., 79 n., 83 n., 88 n., 96 
n., 108, 108 n., 210. 

Transito, Nuestra Senora del, 322. 



486 



INDEX 



Tres Reyes, ship, 45, 47, 48, 53, 80 n., 

95 n., 96 n., 97 n., 121 n., 146. 
Treynte Proposiciones, by Bartolome 

de Las Casas, 134 n. 
Trias, 216. 

Trinidad, see Santisima Trinidad. 
Trinidad Harbor, see Santa Marina 

Bay. 
Trinidad Point, see Cape Tosco. 
Trinidad River, see Trinity River. 
Trinity River, Texas, 376 n., 414, 414 

n., 418. 
Tuape, 451, 451 n. 
Tubutama, 441 n., 444, 449, 449 n.; 

see also San Pedro del Tubutama. 
Tucson, 449. 
Tucubabia, 441 n. 
Tuerto, 233, 233 n. 
Tuerto River, 233 n. 
Tumacacori, 441 n. 
Tupo, 441 n.; see also San Miguel del 

Tupo. 
Turbio River, 354. 
Tusconimo, 447. 
Twitchell, R. E., Leading Facts of New 

Mexican History, 145 n., 175 n., 176 

n., 188 n. 

Ubates, 165, 188. 

Ulloa, 5, 15 n., 16 n., 17 n., 63 n. 

Umafia, see Humana. 

United States Bureau of Ethnology, 
Fourteenth Annual Report of the, 
169 n. 

United States Coast and Geodetic Sur- 
vey, Report of the Superintendent, 11- 
12. 

United States Geographical Survey West 
of the One Hundredth Meridian, by 
Wheeler, 10 n., 11, 22 n. 

Unojitas, 339. 

Uquitoa, 441 n., 444. 

Urdinola, Francisco de, 200. 

Vaca, Alonso de, expedition of, 313. 
Valenciano, Miguel Sanchez, 170. 
Valladares y Montesuma, Sarmiento 

de, 442. 
Vallehermoso, in Sinaloa, 55 n. 
Valle Viciosa, 147. 
Valverde, factor, 251 n. 
Vargas, Francisco Diaz de, 167, 199. 
Varona, Salinas, see Salinas Varona. 



Vaux, W. S. W., ed., The World Encom- 
passed by Sir Francis Drake, 32 n. 

Velarde, Juan, 239, 247, 248, 249, 267. 

Velas de Masatlan, see Mazatlan Is- 
lands. 

Velasco, Father Francisco de, 251, 
261 n. 

Velasco, Luis de (II.), viceroy, 44. 

Velasques de Cavanillas, Juan, 231. 

Venabides, see Benavides. 

Venegas (Burriel), Miguel, Noticia de 
la California, 428 n., 430. 

Vera Cruz, 348, 400. 

Verde River, 243 n. 

Vergara, Father Pedro de, 251, 266. 

Vetancur, Chrdnica de la Provincia del 
Santo Evangelio, 354 n. 

Victoria, frigate, 5. 

Vido, Francisco, 239 n., 248, 267. 

Villagra, Captain Gasparde, 236; His- 
toria de la Nueva Mexico, 206, 209, 
212 n., 213 n., 214 n., 215 n., 216 n., 
223 n., 224 n., 227 n., 233 n., 234 n., 
236 n., 238 n. 

Villalobos, Ruy L6pez de, expedition to 
the Philippines, 5, 43. 

Villalva, Francisco de, 249. 

Villaviciosa, Miguel de, 267. 

Vino, Arroyo de, 393, 408 n., 422. 

Viscaya, see Nueva Vizcaya. 

Vivit Indians, 308. 

Vizcaino, Sebastian, expedition to 
California, 41-134, 137; Diary of, 
52-103; Father Ascension's report of 
the expedition of, 104-134. 

Vizcaya presidio, 357, 369, 370, 371. 

Volunteer Spring, 240 n. 

Voyages, by Burney, 85 n. 

Voyages, by Hakluyt, 167. 

West, Elizabeth Howard, 351, 388 n., 
391 n., 399 n. 

Wheeler, G. M., Report upon United 
States Geographical Survey West of the 
One Hundredth Meridian, 10 n., 11, 
22 n. 

Wichita, Kansas, 205, 255 n. 

Wichita Indians, 260 n., 340 n. 

Wichita River, 260 n. 

Winship, G. P., The Colorado Expedi- 
tion, 169 n., 179 n., 183 n. 

World Encompassed by Sir Francis 
Drake, by Francis Fletcher, 32 n. 



INDEX 



4S7 



Xaesers, 287, 299. 

Xavier, Saint Francis, 428, 435 ; see also 

San Francisco Xavier, Texas. 
Xexo, see El Coxo. 
Xinesi, Great, 381 n. 
Xomans, 288. 
Xucu, 30. 
Xumanas, see Jumanos. 

Yacatsol hills, 297 n. ; see also Anacacho 

Mountain; Sierra Dacate. 
Yaqui River, 427, 459 n. 
Yaquis, 427. 
Yavapai, 242 n., 270 n. 
Yegua River, 413 n. 
Ylames, 339. 

Yoricas, 287, 296, 297, 308. 
Yoyehis, 339. 
Yrbipiames, 285, 297, 308. 
Yriarte, 348. 

Ysusti, Le6n de, 239 n., 248. 
"Ytinerario de las minas del Caxco," 

206, 234 n., 236 n., 238 n., 239 n., 

240 n., 241 n., 242 n., 243 n. 
Yturbi, Captain Juan, 438. 
Yturmen de, Father Ignacio de, 449 n. 
Yumas, 276, 443 n., 444, 445 n., 449, 

449 n. 



Yurbipames, see Yrbipiames. 
Yxtle, 235 n. 

Zacatecas, 137, 152, 201, 202, 367, 369, 

439. 
Zacatula, shipyard, 3. 
Zalasar, see Salasar, Father Antonio de. 
Zaldivar, Juan de, 237, 238. 
Zaldivar Mendoza, Vicente de, 202, 

203, 207; sargento mayor to Oflate in 

search for buffalo, 223-231; maese de 

campo in eastward journey, 251-268. 
Zapata, Rodrigo, 267. 
Zarate-Salmeron, Father Geronimo, 

Relaciones de Nuevo Mexico, 51, 210, 

259 n., 260 n., 261 n., 262 n., 264 n.; 

extract from, 268-280. 
Zavaleta, Father Juan, 316-317, 325, 

331, 337, 342. 
Zedros, see Cerros Island. 
Zifiogaba Island, 274, 276, 280. 
Zorillo Creek, 362 n. 
Zorra River, 305 n. 
Zuni, 3, 4, 5, 139, 148 n., 165, 187 n., 204, 

216, 236, 237, 268, 269, 279, 444, 453. 
Zuni Indians, 279 n. 
Zuniga y Azevedo, Gaspar de, see 

Monterey, Count of. 



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